Chosen Ones
by jubbiester
Summary: AU. Anakin wasn't the only Chosen One. The Jedi only knew half of the prophecy. What would happen to the galaxy if the other half was a Sith? DISCONTINUED.
1. Chapter 1

Alright guys so this is my first attempt at a story with more than one chapter. This is very AU. Padme is also a chosen one but is a Sith and her and Palpatine want to destroy the Jedi. This Padme is very different, she is not the nice caring senator we know and love. Let me know what you guys think!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Star Wars I just like to mess with George.

* * *

_Somewhere in hyperspace_

The room was dark, both in physical form and presence. A hooded figure sat in a lone chair that stood in front of an extensive window, looking at the stars as they streaked past. Behind the chair a door slid open revealing a petite figure wearing a black cloak. It moved towards the center of the room and bowed on one knee.

"What is thy bidding my master," a sweet female voice asked. But her voice betrayed her for she was anything but sweet. She was a murderer, killing whoever stood in her way and would stop at nothing to get what she wants. She was only known as Darth Valdis, meaning goddess of the dead. And she was like a goddess in a way, her beauty compared to no one. Any man foolish enough to get close to her ended up meeting the business end of her lightsaber.

"Rise my apprentice," the hooded figure said, " I trust your mission went well?"

Valdis smiled beneath her hood. She had been assigned to kill a ship of Jedi as they were traveling back to the temple and she had been happy to oblige. Not even their awareness of the force could alert them in time to the thermal detonator she had planted on their ship.

"The ship was completely destroyed and I retrieved the bodies and burned them," she paused for a small chuckle, "I also took their lightsabers and delivered them to the temple. I can only imagine the council members' horrified faces when they realize there's been another attack."

"Good my apprentice," the raspy voice said without turning around. He could feel her hatred for the Jedi, how it made her stronger, made her focus sharper. "Soon the Jedi will be eliminated and we can take the galaxy for ourselves, the Sith once again ruling!" he stopped to cough and Valdis resisted the urge to roll her eyes, "I have a new mission for you. The Jedi's so called 'chosen one' is becoming more powerful. I need you to turn him to the dark side. Use whatever means necessary. If he does not turn," he paused contemplating his answer, "Kill him."

"Understood my master," Valdis said as she bowed. Just as she was about to leave he called out to her.

"And don't forget what will happen if you should fail me," with that he swiveled around, shooting lightning from his fingertips. Before she could react it hit her in the chest, knocking her down on the floor. He cackled as she writhed from his vicious attack, her hood thrown back revealing her pain. Her brown curls were strewn about and beautiful brown eyes filled with agony and tears. But she would not scream for screaming would show weakness. He continued for several minutes before ceasing. "You may go now".

She got up painfully and coughed as blood spattered her lips, meaning she was bleeding internally. _One day soon_, she vowed, _I will make that old man suffer_. Her hatred of him grew with that dark thought and her eyes turned a sickly yellow. _I am more powerful than him and he knows it_. She turned and limped out of the room towards the med bay. And she was right. Her master knew she was more powerful indeed but she didn't know the whole story. The prophecy of the chosen one was actually incomplete. What the Jedi didn't know was that there were two, and luckily he found one and erased the other half of the prophecy. He trained her into a powerful Sith and he knew that only she had the power to change the balance of the force. If both of the chosen ones were to be on the light side, it would mean the end of the Sith forever.

_TBC_


	2. Chapter 2

Yay the second chapter! I forgot to mention in the previous chapter. This story will follow some events in Attack of the Clones but I will add my own twist to them. Let me know what you think!

* * *

_Coruscant_

His brow furrowed in concentration as he urged the yellow speeder to go faster. He tried to hide his frustration as he remembered that this wasn't his modified speeder that he stored in the temple's hangar. Anakin had always loved building things as a young boy. Even though he was an aspiring padawan he still liked to tinker with the old droids at the temple. He silently chuckled, remembering a cleaning droid he had tried to repair but the only thing it would clean was Master Windu's head. The lecture was boring and long but Anakin had passed the time by admiring how shiny Master Windu's head was. His musings were suddenly interrupted when his senses alerted him to his master's current condition. He searched through the haze of lights and speeders and finally spotted his master free falling through the traffic.

Putting his piloting skills to the test he reversed his direction, dodging speeders and angry drivers, carefully placing himself under his master.

"What took you so long?" Obi-Wan questioned as he landed and climbed into the passengers seat.

"Oh you know master, I couldn't really find a speeder that I liked," Anakin answered.

"There he is," Obi-Wan said before Anakin cut him off again.

"With the open cockpit and right speed capabilities," he continued, "Plus this isn't my speeder so I had to find the owner and ask for permission."

"Ah yes, always the courteous Jedi."

"I try master," Their friendly banter continued as gained on their target. Moments ago there was an attack on the senator they were supposed to be protecting, Senator Kamidal of Naboo. Their attacker was driving insanely, just missing passing speeders and making random swerves and drops in a futile attempt to lose their Jedi pursuers. The bounty hunter did a 180° drop, plummeting to the ground below. Anakin quickly followed, enjoying his master's discomfort at the sudden drop.

"Pull up Anakin, pull up!" Obi-Wan ordered sternly but only received laughter. Just as they were about to hit a building did Anakin finally pull up. "You know I hate when you do that," Obi-Wan scolded.

"Sorry master I forgot you don't like flying," Anakin said with some amusement in his voice.

"I don't mind flying but what-" he was cut off as the nearly collided with another speeder, "-what you're doing is suicide!"

But by then Anakin had decided that the chase was over and with a quick 'excuse me' jumped off the side into the speeding traffic leaving an annoyed Obi-Wan. He spied the bounty hunter's speeder to his left and flew over to it, landing on its roof. The hunter quickly hid her surprise and responded by diving further down, making Anakin slide right in front of her cockpit. As she fumbled with a blaster Anakin managed to get back on the roof and stab his lightsaber through. But the hunter smacked it out of his hand and it sailed through the air behind them. Thinking quickly he grabbed her blaster and shot the controls, setting them on fire. The speeder crashed down onto the street and a new chase began on foot. But the bounty hunter was no match for the powers of the Force. Anakin gathered the force around a heavy crate and hurled it at the bounty hunter, toppling her to the ground.

"You're under arrest for attempted murder," he stated calmly as Obi-Wan caught up with them, handing Anakin his lightsaber.

"Well done my apprentice," he said when suddenly the bounty hunter clutched her throat and gasped for air. There was nothing the Jedi could do as they watched her suddenly go limp and fall against Anakin. His eyes were wide with shock as he dropped the body to the floor. He turned to Obi-Wan who was equally disturbed, stroking his beard, lost in thought. "Whoever this bounty hunter was hired by must be working with the Sith," he concluded.

"You mean the Sith are behind this," it was more a statement than question.

"Yes we must alert the council immediately," Obi-Wan stated, worry clear in his voice. Neither of them noticed the petite woman hiding in the shadows the only visible feature was a satisfied smirk.

* * *

_Council Room_

It was early the next morning when Obi-Wan and Anakin made their report to the council.

"Hmmmm, disturbing this news is," stated Master Yoda.

"If what you claim is true then that means the Sith are done hiding," Master Windu said.

"But why would the Sith want Senator Kamidal dead?" Obi-Wan wondered aloud.

"Clouded the future is, know not we do" Yoda said leaning heavily on his gimmer stick.

"For now your apprentice shall continue guarding the Senator," Mace ordered Obi-Wan. They both bowed and exited the room. Yoda turned to Mace.

"I sense coming our way, a dark plot is" he said sadly.

* * *

_Chancellor's Office_

Palpatine was angry. He was furious. He was foolish to believe that a bounty hunter would stand even a slim chance against two Jedi. He needed to calm down, it wasn't good to waste his anger on some pathetic life form. Suddenly his secret comm. unit started to beep. _Ah my apprentice_, he thought with relief, _I do hope she has good news._ A sick smile spread across his wrinkled skin, revealing hideous yellow teeth. _It would be most unfortunate for her if she doesn't.._ He pressed a small remote that closed all windows and shut off all light. He pulled his cowl over his face becoming Darth Sidious and answered his comm. A small blue figure appeared, illuminating the room in a faint blue glow.

"My master," she said as she did a quick bow, "I hired a bounty hun-" she grasped her throat as she felt invisible hands constricting her airway.

"Yes I know of the bounty hunter. I trust you took care of her before she revealed anything," he said in a slow low voice as he released his hold on her. She coughed violently before nodding a yes. "Good. I have no doubt that the Jedi have assigned Skywalker to remain as a bodyguard for the senator. They are leaving tomorrow to return her back to her home planet."

But Valdis soon interrupted him, "Master what is the importance of this senator exactly?"

"I was getting there my young naïve friend," he snapped, his yellow eyes glowing through the cowl, "She is just a means of getting Skywalker away from the other Jedi. Surely you didn't think you could waltz into the temple and take him did you? "

Valdis shook her head no. Throughout her training Sidious would take delight in degrading her, telling her that she would be no match for Skywalker. He was the reason why she trained so hard, so she could prove that she was far superior. She couldn't help feel a hint of jealousy towards Skywalker, the almighty powerful being. He wasn't even a full Jedi yet, how could he be so powerful? "I will leave at once my master," she said bitterly before hanging up. Sidious smiled as he watched her image fade. That quick thought of jealousy had not escaped his senses. She was becoming more and more of a sithly apprentice each day, discovering just how powerful she was. He thought back eleven years ago to when she was just thirteen. He had finished punishing her for a failure and while taking out her anger, she unleashed a maelstrom of power, destroying the entire med bay. _And soon,_ he thought darkly, _I will have two._


	3. Chapter 3

It was a cold morning on Coruscant as Valdis made her way to the landing platform. The senator and Skywalker were leaving in a matter of minutes and she needed to get there soon. She turned a corner, lost in her thoughts, and walked straight into a security guard.

"Well look at what we have here," he said as he yanked off her hood, "What's a pretty lady doing snooping around?"

Valdis rolled her eyes. She had forgotten that security would be extra tight and was in no mood for this one's little games.

"Get your hands off of me," she growled in a dangerous low voice.

"Oh yeah? And what are you gonna-" but was silenced when a flash of red slice through his hands. He looked up, completely terrified, at the small woman instantly realizing his mistake. His first thought was to call for help but Valdis was too quick and sensed this. She slashed him across the chest and then force-pushed him off the balcony to his death. Beyond the hallway she could hear voices and hurried footsteps. Her eyes turned yellow as she pulled her hood back up and continued her slaughter.

* * *

Anakin waited anxiously on the landing platform as the Senator said her farewells. This was his first assignment without his master and he had to admit that he was a little nervous. He looked towards the head of security, sensing his worry.

"Don't worry Captain Typho, the Senator is in good hands," Anakin tried to assure him.

"It's not that I'm worried about," Typho said hurriedly, "None of my security guards are calling in for their reports." Anakin frowned as he digested this. It was pretty odd that none of the guards were calling in. There had to be at least fifty of them, at least one could call. He immersed himself in the Force trying to sense what had happened. He soon grew into a panic when he couldn't feel anything beyond the landing platform. His eyes narrowed as he thought of what Obi-Wan had concluded earlier. _Someone must be blocking me_, he thought, _but is it a Sith?

* * *

_

Valdis quickly strode down the last hallway, holding her lightsaber in a death grip. She stopped at a corner and probed the Force to see if there were any more guards. _Two_. She peeked around the corner seeing the two guards in front of the door. She closed her eyes and tapped into her infinite force powers. A tingling feeling started spreading across her body as she used the Force to cloak herself, becoming almost invisible, and walked towards the guards reading their name plates. Isaac and Dan. But names never concerned her, she just saw them as obstacles in her way. She calmly walked behind Isaac and reappeared behind his shoulder, only her eyes visible because of her short height. The one named Dan froze when he saw the two yellow eyes peering at him. He quickly got out his blaster and shot at them but Valdis moved poor Isaac right in front of her head. Before he knew what was happening the blaster bolt hit him in the throat. He gave his partner a look of shock before he died. Valdis quickly threw him to the floor and ignited her lightsaber. Dan was too scared for words and ran down the hall in a feeble attempt at escape. Valdis threw her saber towards him and watched as the red glow went straight through his neck as he fell with a loud thud. A malicious smile came to her lips as she walked through the door. _Pathetic._

The door led to another balcony overlooking the landing platform and she could see the Senator along with her entourage and Skywalker standing in front of the ship. She reached behind her cloak and retrieved a brown leather satchel, containing four thermal detonators. She looked down at Skywalker thoughtfully as she contemplated her next move. She couldn't just throw the bombs at the ship from here, someone would see it. She also couldn't cloak herself and go down for Skywalker would surely his sense it with his superior powers. She glanced at the handmaidens and a brilliant idea hit her.

* * *

Anakin was getting more and more nervous with the situation. The captain was still trying to contact someone in security but all he could get was static.

"Captain I suggest we leave now," the worry evident in Anakin's voice. If there truly was a Sith here he wanted to get the Senator as far away as possible. The captain, also worried about the Senator's well being, silently agreed. Suddenly Anakin sensed a dark presence nearby. He scanned the landing pad, trying to find the source. The only people here were the Senator and her handmaidens. "Milady it's time to go," he called out to the Senator. She walked towards him as all but two handmaidens returned to the Senate. They made their way inside, none of them noticing as one handmaiden was pulled behind the corner by an invisible force. There was a quick _snap-hiss _of a lightsaber and a muffled scream. Valdis scanned the area to make sure no one was watching and quickly stripped down to her undergarments. She snatched the dead handmaiden's robes and slipped them over her head, picking up the satchel. She stopped dead in her tracks and hid the satchel behind her back as a young crew member called out to her.

"Hey! Are you coming or not!" he shouted from the ramp.

"Coming!" she replied. She quickly ran across the platform and pulled out one of the bombs. She activated it and pressed it on the side of the ship. She continued, placing more on each wing and on the underside of the ship and after retrieving her clothes before ran back to the building. Once she was safely inside she quickly shed the handmaiden disguise and replaced them with her Sith robes. She pushed a button on her gauntlet and watched as it silently counted down.

_10, 9, 8, 7, 6...

* * *

_

Anakin walked into the cockpit after ensuring the Senator was safely tucked away. He heard a small beeping and instantly thought it was his master trying to contact him to see how his first mission was going. He clipped the device off his belt and checked but it was empty. _Odd_. He then reasoned the beeping was the controls of the ship getting ready to take off.

"Captain is the ship turned on?" A young man quickly ran up the ramp.

"No sir we're still getting everyone on board." he replied. Anakin nodded. He needed everyone on now before the Sith showed up.

Suddenly the hairs on the back of his neck stood up and his senses were on fire. He was just about to shout to the captain when the whole ship exploded. The last thing he remembered was flying backwards into a wall before a sharp piece of metal collided with his head and he blacked out.

* * *

The whole building shook from the explosion telling Valdis that she'd completed her task. She calmly walked outside surveying her damage. The entire platform was littered with ship parts and bodies. Valdis smiled as she checked each person's pulse. There was none. Her eyes returned to their natural brown color when she spotted a man. He was lying face down on the ground, his clothes ripped from the explosion, his padawan braid singed at the tip and a big gash running from his forehead down to his cheek. _Skywalker._ She walked towards him and checked his pulse. He was alive. _Good_. She bent down and grabbed one of his arms, draping it over her shoulder as she lifted him up. She dragged him across the platform, into the building and down the staircase, which aggravated her even more considering how most buildings had lifts. She finally made it onto the street below where her speeder awaited and struggled to pull an arm free so she could open the door. His weight proved to be too for one arm and he quickly slipped from her grip and banged his head against the door. Valdis paid this no mind and simply threw him in the back. All the movement jostled him awake. His eyes fluttered open and he looked around in panic until his gaze fell on her face. His eyes flew open in shock at the sight of her but quickly relaxed. Valdis scrunched her's in confusion and annoyance, wondering why he was staring at her like that before turning back to the ship. She was tempted to smack him back into unconsciousness but stopped when she heard a strange croaking sound. She turned around and realized it was him.

"Padmé?" he finally rasped before consciousness left him again. Valdis froze. What had he just said? She must be imagining this. _Yes_, she tried to reassure herself,_ you're just exhausted after carrying that garbage around and now you're hearing things. All the more reason to make him suffer,_ she reasoned. Yet somehow she wasn't convinced. But she quickly recovered as the dark side took hold of her once again. She glared back at him before pulling out and heading towards her castle. Master had said she could use whatever means necessary to turn him and she planned to take advantage of it.

* * *

_Another shortish chapter I know. I'm just incapable of long elaborate chapters.  
_


	4. Chapter 4

It had been exactly one day since Anakin was supposed to leave for Naboo with the senator. He was supposed to have called Obi-Wan as soon as they arrived. Obi-Wan stroked his beard thoughtfully, something must have happened to them as they were trying to leave. Deciding he should go and investigate he made his way to the temple hangar. _Where to start?_ he wondered silently. _Perhaps the landing platform. That was where they were supposed to have left from_, he reasoned as he hopped into his speeder.

A short time later Obi-Wan arrived at the building that contained the landing platform. Immediately he sensed something was off. A cold chill passed through his body and he knew deaths had happened here. He entered the building and walked slowly through the halls, horrified at the number of murdered guards that littered it. Each one of them had a burn mark on some part of their body, a mark that easily told him was made by a lightsaber. And he had a terrible feeling that he knew who the lightsaber belonged to. He finally reached the landing platform and his horror grew. The Senator's ship was still docked there, or at least what was left of the ship. The Senator was still here too, he thought sadly as he spotted her white clothed body stained red with her own blood. He looked at the other people and realized that his padawan wasn't among them. His feeling proved to be true as he picked up his padawan's lightsaber beneath all the rubble. The Sith had abducted his padawan, and if the prophecy was true, then he was in a lot of trouble.

* * *

_The planet was unbearably hot, hotter than he remembered. But then again he hadn't been here in years and wasn't really accustomed to the heat anymore. He was in the middle of the desert, that much he knew as he watched the wind roll over the sand._

_ "Ani!" a voice said from afar, "Ani where are you!"_

_ His heart stopped. He knew that voice. That warm gentle voice that he hadn't heard in over ten years. He looked around desperately trying to find her. In the distance he could see a figure outlined against the sun._

_ "Mother!" he cried feeling like that nine year old boy again as he sprinted towards her. As he got closer he could make out the details of her face, her sweet smile and brown gentle eyes and ran even faster. After stumbling in the sand he finally reached her and before she could say anything he wrapped her in a bone crushing hug. "I missed you so much Mom," he choked out as tears of happiness rolled down his cheeks. Shmi pulled back and took his handsome face in her hands, trying to find that nine year old boy._

_ "Oh Ani is this really you?" _

_ "Yes Mom it's me," he answered back._

_"Oh you're so big and handsome," she gushed. Anakin couldn't help but chuckle. __She leaned closer to him as if she were about to reveal an important secret._

_ "Now my life is complete," she said warmly as she backed away. A light began to form behind her and all Anakin could do was watch in confusion._

_ "No Mom! What do you mean! Come back!" he tried to lunge for her but she was quickly swallowed by the light. As soon as she left Anakin could feel her pain through the Force. It killed him inside that he couldn't help her but then the bright light returned and grew until Anakin could no longer see. He tried to run but not even his force powers could save him. A cold realization came over him as he knew this was the end..._

Bright. That was the only thing his mind could register as he struggled to wake up. He was breathing hard and sweat covered his bare chest. What had that dream been about? What was wrong with his mother? _Wait_, he thought still trying to get his mind out of the fog and feeling very cold all of a sudden, _where are my clothes?_ He tried to look at his surroundings but it was hard when the whole room was black. He realized he was suspended in the air, his wrists and ankles encased in some strange heavy device that gave off an eerie red glow. He was completely stripped to nothing but some black shorts which he definitely wasn't wearing before. Anakin tried tugging his wrists free but there was some force preventing that. He concentrated on his wrists willing the Force to enhance his strength but was suddenly shocked by a good amount of the lethal Sith lightning. He screamed in pain and let go of the Force, the lightning stopping as soon as he did so. He was still trying to catch his breath when a door slid open letting light pool into the room. He squinted trying to see who was coming in, not even bothering to try and sense them for he knew he would probably get shocked.

"Who are you?" he demanded as he stared down at a petite cloaked figure.

"Who I am is irrelevant. _What_ I am is what you'll be after I'm finished with you," a female voice replied. That caught him off guard. He felt a little embarrassed that a small woman had captured him.

"Alright let me rephrase that. _What_ are you?" he said annoyed at this point. The figure got up just centimeters from his face. He took this as an opportunity to try and see who was underneath but the red glow from his restraints only allowed him to see so much. All he could see was a full pair of lips and the end of a nose. When she whispered in his ear it sent chills up his spine.

"A Sith," she whispered before pulling back quickly. Doubt quickly filled his mind. There was no way this small woman could be an evil Sith. She sensed his doubt, seeing as he couldn't very well shield them in his position.

"You doubt me, don't you?" she asked, reading his mind.

"Yes as a matter of fact I do," he snapped back. She chuckled in amusement. It was a sweet melodic laugh, something you wouldn't think a Sith was capable of and it confused Anakin even more. He had heard that laugh before somewhere. "Who are you?" he asked again receiving an annoyed sigh.

"Since you're so single minded about it I'll tell you. I am Darth Valdis, Lady of the Sith," she declared as she started circling him, like a nexu stalking its prey.

"I don't believe you," he stated, "I think I've met you before." Now Valdis was losing her patience and she rounded on him once again in his face.

"Listen Skywalker, you are here for one reason and one reason only. You are to be turned to the Dark Side. If it were up to me I'd kill you right now but that is not my master's wish." she said somewhat bitterly, "He believes you are the Chosen One and he needs your power." At this Anakin scoffed.

"I am just a simple Jedi," he replied.

"Oh but you are so much more," she stated as she resumed circling him. "You have so much power, so much potential that you don't even realize. You _are_ the Chosen One," she said with absolute certainty. Anakin was now convinced he knew her. He had heard that same certainty once before, back when he was a slave, and...

Suddenly it hit him.

"I know you," he stated as Valdis continued to circle him, "Your name is Padmé. Padmé Naberrie." he continued hurriedly knowing he had her full attention now, "We met on Tatooine when you visited as part of your Refugee Relief Movement with your family. You were just ten at the time and tried to free me and my mother from slavery. We offered you shelter during a sandstorm and you helped me in constructing a protocol droid. You said you were from... from Naboo! And-" But by that time he had gone too far. Valdis came up to his face, her eyes glowing yellow underneath her hood. She outstretched her hand, choking him.

"You will never speak that name again, do you understand me?" she practically screamed through clenched teeth. He started gurgling and gasping, not even able to use the Force to sever her choke hold on him. She relented only an ounce, just enough so that he wouldn't pass out. "That girl is dead! She has been dead for the past fourteen years! She was too kind and innocent and everyone knows that those people won't survive in this galaxy!" Anakin gasped as she finally released him. He was in complete shock as he took starved breaths of air. He hesitantly looked into her bleeding yellow eyes, trying to find a trace of that caring girl. Where had she gone? Was she still there beneath all the anger and hate? Were the Sith responsible for the creation of this monster standing before him? He stared straight into her eyes, determination shining in his. Determination that he would help find that girl and bring her out of the darkness.

"I can assure you, _Valdis_, that I won't turn. I know Padmé is in there somewhere. The Sith have all but destroyed her and made a monster out of her remains. I will find you Padme," he promised. This only angered her further as she drew her lightsaber, pointing it straight at his throat.

"I said to never say that name again," she snarled. Anakin closed his eyes, bracing himself for the pain that was to come. But after several moments nothing came. He cautiously opened his eyes wondering what he'd find. The room was empty. Did he dare say she was gone? Suddenly there was a distinct _snap-hiss_ behind him followed by his agonized screams as he was struck three times. He turned his head, straining to see behind him but was once again met with nothing. He let his head fall forward with exhaustion and stared at the floor as he tried to bear the pain in his back. Suddenly two boots appeared in front of him out of no where and his head shot up in surprise. He was greeted by Valdis' face, her hood having been thrown back. His pain was momentarily forgotten as he hovered there in awe. It was still Padme's face even if the occupant wasn't her. She looked exactly like he saw her in his dreams. Her long chocolate curls spilled over her shoulders and she still had those doe brown eyes when they weren't yellow with rage. When they were children he developed a crush on her and somehow throughout the years it remained, possibly even growing stronger now that he saw her again. But she was no longer that small girl, he had to remind himself.

How could he be thinking like that? This was the woman who was raised as a Sith, probably murdered hundreds without a second thought, and was now holding him hostage. But still, a part of him wanted to believe that a small sliver of Padme remained, a part of him wanted to help her.

What he didn't know was that as he was thinking all this, Valdis had heard all of them. Just to remind him who she really was, she gave one final slash across his chest before retreating out of the room, listening to his screams.

"BT3!" she called as she exited the room. A silver protocol droid immediately came running to her side. "Have our guest here put in a bacta tank. I need him fully healed for tomorrow's...exercises."

"Yes Milady, right away," he eagerly responded. She nodded and she headed to her chambers, Anakin's last thought weighing heavily on her mind.


	5. Chapter 5

The Coruscant skyline was a warm orange as the sun was slowly setting. From the council room's windows Obi-Wan watched the speeders lazily drift by while he waited for the Council to respond. He had just finished telling them what he had found on the landing platform, receiving disturbed looks from each member. Master Yoda cleared his throat, snapping Obi-Wan's attention back to him.

"Very disturbing indeed, your findings are," he said sadly.

"Losing Senator Kamidal and Padawan Skywalker gone missing," Mace said as he shook his head in disbelief, "this is a great loss to the Jedi."

" Find young Skywalker we must. Send a search party we will," stated Yoda, "Returning from a mission, Master Mundi is. Send him we shall." Obi-Wan grew more saddened at the mention of Master Mundi.

"Actually Master I found these hidden at the entrance of the temple," he said as he retrieved six lightsabers from his pocket, "One of these is Master Mundi's." He gingerly placed them in Master Yoda's hands feeling their shock and disbelief.

"This is the second attack this month!" Shaak Ti exclaimed as silence took over the room.

"A message, the Sith are sending us," Yoda said at last. Everyone looked at him confusion filling their ordinarily calm faces.

"And what message is that?" Kit Fisto questioned.

"Rising the Sith are and eliminating the Jedi, their goal is," he answered. Mace sighed and gave an apologetic look to Obi-Wan.

"I'm sorry Obi-Wan but for now all we can do is wait for the Sith to show themselves." he said with deep regret. Obi-Wan nodded his understanding and quietly left the room. _Anakin, what have you gotten yourself into?

* * *

_

Valdis' castle was not a very big one. In fact some might not even consider it a castle, more like a small mansion. It was located on the remote planet Dantooine and the only people who knew its exact location were the primitive tribes that lived there. The mansion was dreary and gray, matching the sky outside as the constant rain continued to pour. It contained a kitchen, a garage, a common room, an enormous gymnasium, a med bay, a study, and several bedrooms each with their own balcony. All of these rooms were filled with only the essentials, nothing fancy and everything in only three colors: gray, black and red. There were droids everywhere either performing common household duties or at work in the med bay or garage.

A small mouse droid was quickly making its way to the garage, carefully dodging the shuffling feet of the cleaning droids. It was almost there, just one more turn and it would be home free. It sped around the corner and was instantly kicked by a pair of boots. It spun out of control and crashed straight into the wall, cowering in the corner as it realized who it was that kicked him.

"Watch where you're going," Valdis snapped as she continued on her way to her bedroom. She reached the end of the hall where an elaborate black door was waiting. She impatiently keyed in the code and walked inside, slamming the door shut. Her room was just like all the others in the house, gray walls, black carpet, and red furniture. To the left was an ebony fireplace with a red couch in front of it. Across the room was a bed covered in red sheets and a few red leather chairs before it broke off connecting to the fresher. She angrily kicked aside some laundry on the floor as she prepared to retire, Skywalker's thoughts still fresh in her mind. What made him think she needed help? She was perfectly happy wasn't she? _No you're not. You've lost everyone you ever loved_ a small voice said inside before it was quickly swallowed by the raspy voice of the dark side. She slipped on a short black nightgown before brushing out her hair. _You are perfectly happy now. Master Sidious saved you from the fate that your parents had. You are not that pathetic girl anymore,_ said the raspy voice

And it was right she was no longer a small helpless child and neither was Skywalker, she realized. Both of them had grown up and that was all she kept thinking as he was held before her wearing nothing but shorts. She shook her head, mentally yelling at herself. She couldn't be thinking like this, she had a mission to complete. But her thoughts wandered back to just a few hours earlier when she was standing before him. Something had clicked in her head when he was describing how they had met. She had almost no recollection of her past life, Sidious had made sure of that, and when he was saying all those things about her it made her furious until she could no longer listen and choked him. How could he know more about her than she herself knew? But then there was also a feeling of curiosity. After she left him she began to wonder what her childhood had been like. The only thing she remembered vividly was her parents and the memories brought nothing but sadness and hate. Hate towards the Jedi. Try all she might she could only see glimpses or pictures of pleasant times in her past, waterfalls and grassy meadows but most seemed to be about a small girl and a boy with blond hair. Somehow she knew that Skywalker was a big part of it. And then when he was studying her. There was something about his eyes that she found almost...comforting. They were such an amazing blue, reminding her of the waters of some planet she couldn't remember but knew she had been there before. Seeing them filled with pain had gotten through to her and that little voice in her head was telling her to take away his pain. But the Sith in her had overpowered that voice and only made it worse, taking delight in his agony. She stared at her reflection in the mirror, trying to see if there was something wrong with her. She had never had any trouble completing missions before. Why start now? _It's because of Skywalker,_ the raspy voice continued,_ he represents everything you left behind in that pathetic life. He is wasting his powers by serving the Jedi, you'd be doing him a favor!_ She listened to it, contemplating what it said. She put her brush down and headed towards her bed.

The brush slipped off the edge of the dresser and fell to the floor taking a small box with it. It made a loud noise as lightsaber pieces and old data chips spilled all over the floor. Valdis let out an annoyed sigh and bent down to pick up the small bits of metal. While groping under the dresser for a data chip Valdis pulled out a strange piece of wood. She straightened up to a sitting position and ran her fingers over it. It was smooth and had a design carved onto its face. She quickly lost interest in it and stuffed it in her cloak pocket before returning to bed.

* * *

Pain. Exhaustion. Confusion. These are just a few words to describe how Anakin Skywalker was feeling. Pain from the injuries he suffered the day before and the deeps gashes he received only hours ago. Exhaustion from being suspended in the air and shocked every time he tried to break free. But confusion was the biggest feeling of all. Confusion about his mother and the dream he had earlier. Confusion about his captor who he just found out was his childhood crush. Why was Padmé holding him like this? What had happened to her after she had left Tatooine? Was there any chance at saving her? All these questions gnawed at his mind as he tried to find an answer. Perhaps there was someone close to her, someone who sees her when she's not a Sith. Maybe they could help him break through to her. At least he hoped that. A hiss interrupted his thoughts and he looked up, half expecting to see Valdis again. Instead ceiling lights came on and two med droids came bustling in, running to his sides.

"Lady Valdis has requested you to be taken to the med bay," an electronic voice said belonging to one of the droids.

"How considerate of her," he replied sarcastically as the droids continued their work. Their eyes scanned a strange material on the devices that held him. The devices' red glow vanished and was replaced with a green one as they clattered to the floor, Anakin following them down. The two droids quickly bent down and hoisted up his body, receiving a hiss from him as they stretched his cuts. They quickly went to work putting Force resistant handcuffs on as he look around the room now able to see. He was surprised to see he was in a bedroom, complete with a fresher and furniture. Before he could continue looking the droids dragged him out of the room into the hallway.

Anakin absorbed everything as they made their way to the med bay. For instance, he noticed that everything was either black, gray or red. He also noticed an elaborate black door next to his and he could only assume that it was something personal. There was also an awful lot of droids here for just one person. He hid a small smile as he watched a blue astromech droid argue with one of the cleaning droids.

"What do you mean the kitchen is messy? I was just in there half an hour ago!" it exclaimed. The astromech droid did a series of whistles and beeps, shaking up and down to prove its point. "Lady Valdis was there you say? Oh dear I better go down there at once," it fretted to itself as it shuffled off. The astromech turned its dome and stared at Anakin as if to say 'what do you want?' Anakin chuckled, glad that at least something had some life in this place. They continued down the hall and into a lift tube before finally arriving at the med bay. This was the only room he'd seen so far that wasn't dark and gloomy. It had white walls covered with white cabinets and a gleaming, white tiled floor. There were several cots with teal sheets and a few chairs, also teal. In the corner was all the medical technology and bacta tanks.

The droids led him to a cot before disappearing behind a door. Anakin decided to get comfortable and sate on the bed to try and meditate. He suddenly jumped when he heard a female voice behind him.

"So what are you in for?" a petite brunette asked him. At first he thought it was Valdis and immediately his shoulders tensed up. She had brown curly hair, brown eyes and was even the same height as Valdis. She noticed his confusion and decided introductions were necessary. "I'm Sabé," she stated as she held out her hand.

He smiled at her and grasped her hand shaking it enthusiastically, deciding this woman was much nicer than Valdis.

"So what are you in for?" Sabé asked again.

"I uh, I don't really know. These droids came and said Valdis wanted me to be taken here," his voice full of confusion. Sabé gave him a curious look and went behind him to examine his back. She winced as she looked at the bloody gashes that ran across it.

"Ooh you must have really made her mad," she continued as she examined his front. There was another deep gash across his chest and the whole right side of his face was swollen. "What happened here?" she asked referring to his face.

"There was an explosion and a sharp piece of metal cut me," he explained. She winced again as she saw the severity of it.

"I'm sorry honey but that's infected," she declared as she found a bacta strip and placed it on his face. He hissed in pain as it made contact with the infected skin. She continued to ask him questions as she placed more strips on the gashes. "So why are you here?" He sighed, not really knowing much himself.

"I don't really know. Yesterday I was guarding a senator and today I'm being held hostage, with this woman telling me that I'm going to turn to the dark side!" he said in exasperation. Sabé nodded. She might not be a force sensitive but after serving Valdis for fourteen years she's come to know a lot about the Force.

"Well from what you say, I think I'm going to be seeing you a lot," she commented.

"What makes you think that?" Anakin asked in confusion.

"I know Valdis. I've known her for the past fourteen years. I'm what she might call a friend. She can get very...aggressive when she wants something," she explained as she turned around to get some disinfectant cream.

"Ha, you're telling me." Then a thought struck him.

"Hey you said you're her friend right?"

"Ya," she answered casually.

"So she must be somewhat nicer around you." Sabé laughed at the uncertainty in his voice.

"Ya when she's not being a Sith she can be pretty nice."

"I knew it!" he exclaimed. Now it was Sabé's turn to be confused. She turned around and leaned against the counter and eyed Anakin suspiciously.

"Exactly what do you know?" she inquired. Anakin became a little embarrassed at his sudden outburst._ Better to tell her the whole story now that you got her interested_, he reasoned. He took a deep breath before beginning.

"You see, when she was interrogating me, I was certain that I knew her from somewhere. When I was around seven there was this girl that came to my planet and she tried to free me and my mother from slavery," he paused to see if Sabé was believing him. She just stared at him with a blank expression. "Just hear me out will you?" he asked desperately. He needed to vent someone that much she could tell so she let him continue. "At the time she was named Padmé." And he proceeded to tell Sabe the whole story, about how she was part of a Refugee Relief Movement and how he offered her shelter when a sandstorm came in, how they became close friends and she helped him build a protocol droid, even telling Saber that he had a crush on her. "The point is when I told her all of this a couple of hours ago she freaked out. She, she choked me and then...attacked me and I couldn't believe what she had become. But somehow I know that Padmé is in there and I need to find a way to pull her out of the darkness. I know its a lot to take in but I swear its true," he concluded, his voice full of emotion.

He turned to Sabé, hoping she believed him. And strangely she did. She thoughts drifted back to when Sidious had hired her to take care of Valdis. Back then they were both only ten and Padmé was a scared little girl not knowing what was going on. She would confide in Sabé after her punishments and would tell her all about her life before Sidious found her. Most of her stories always involved a little slave boy named Ani. After two years under Sidious' training the dark side had completely taken control of her and she forgot all about her past life, that little girl all but forgotten. But Sabé didn't forget.

"I believe you," she finally said. Anakin looked back up at her, surprised by her answer. He could tell there was more she needed to say. "You're Ani aren't you?" she asked in a soft voice, that one question summing up all of her thoughts.

"She told you about me?" he asked incredulously.

"You were all she'd talk about," she said with a smile. Anakin couldn't help but blush at this and looked down with embarrassment.

"You still love her don't you? That's why you want to turn her back." Sabé said, her smile growing bigger. His head shot up, not even thinking about that possibility.

"I, I don't know," he said thoughtfully, "I mean, I loved Padmé not the monster that she's become. Besides Jedi aren't allowed to love," he stated.

"Well if you want my opinion I think she needs love. Surely you know she didn't choose to become this monster voluntarily. She was lost and confused and the Sith took advantage of that and picked her up."

"But why would the Sith want her?" he asked becoming confused again.

At that moment the droids came back and grabbed Anakin by the wrists, reattaching the handcuffs. They dragged him across the med bay and towards the door, Anakin quickly glancing back at Sabe before he was led back to the bedroom.

* * *

Wow. I know I crammed a lot towards the end but I needed someone to help Anakin out. I also brought out some of Padme too but Valdis is still in control. We'll learn more about Padme's past in the next few chapters.


	6. Chapter 6

Wow I can't believe we're at the sixth chapter. Thank you guys so much for all the reviews. I never considered myself a writer but it makes me so happy to know that people are actually enjoying this. Get ready for this chapter because things really change from here.

* * *

Mornings on Dantooine were always the worst part of the day. There were no beautiful sunrises to greet you or birds chirping happily or the sweet crisp smell of a new day. Instead the inhabitants were greeted by the roaring thunder of the everlasting storm blowing across the planet effortlessly as if it was doing warm ups before getting ready for the rest of the day. The planet was stuck in an eternal night, the storm clouds blocking out the sun so you couldn't even differentiate between night and day. There were the few animals who would scurry about in the downpour, collecting everything they would need before the predators awoke. The predators would sleep until noon waiting for the storm to lessen and if they were awakened before then, you'd want to get as far away from them as possible.

One of the most deadliest predators was asleep now, sprawled across a large bed with their disheveled hair hid under a pillow. Limbs could be seen poking out from beneath the red sheets as one hand dangled lifelessly over the edge. It's sleep was interrupted by a persistent, high pitched beeping causing the form to twitch until it finally awoke from the dreamless sleep and let out a low growl. The dangling hand groped for the comm. on the side table and dragged it underneath the pillow. With a quick press of a button another voice could be heard through the other end.

"Darth Valdis," a raspy voice commanded. Her eyes still closed as she tried to release her aggravation from being awoken so early.

"Yes my master," came her muffled response.

"I hope I didn't awaken you," he said with false concern, "Did you capture Skywalker?"

"Yes," she answered still trying to wake up.

"Well how is he?"

"He is contained for now. I told him of our plans yesterday which he steadfastly refused."

"Just as I thought. We need to turn him over to the dark side."

"Yes master I know," she said before switching it off. She chucked it across the room and further buried her head in her pillow. "In a few minutes," she said to herself through a yawn.

* * *

Anakin could not sleep, not with all the thoughts raging in his head. He was back in the bedroom once again suspended in the air by the glowing red devices, his limbs protesting from being stretched for so long. He thought back to what Sabé had said.

_ She was lost and confused and the Sith took advantage of that and picked her up._

Sabé obviously knew more than she was letting on. _Why would the Sith want her_, he kept asking over and over again. The Sith only had interest in power, nothing else. What would they want with a little girl? _She must contain some power that the Sith obviously don't have_ he concluded. His thoughts once again traveled back in time, back to when he was just a small boy on Tatooine. Back then he wasn't aware of the Force but he could immediately tell there was something special about Padmé. Her force presence had glowed stronger and brighter than any other person he had come across, rivaling only his own presence. Her presence was still strong, if not stronger since she had been trained in the ways of the Force but now it held a dark edge to it, containing almost no light.

_Speaking of light_, he thought as the door opened letting the light from the hallway come in. Valdis walked up to him wearing what he thought looked like training gear underneath her cloak. She wore her usual black cloak but underneath was a blank tank top and skin tight leather pants. There was a belt attached to her hip, the flash of silver indicating her lightsaber. She said nothing as she raised her hand, the devices turning green as they fell to the floor. Anakin landed on his hands and knees before Valdis yanked him up by his padawan braid.

"You won't be needing this anymore," she said as she summoned her lightsaber to her hand and severed it from his head, "Once you are a Sith you'll need to sever all connections to your past life." He looked down horrified as it fell to the floor. It looked so small and frail, the complete opposite of all his training that it represented. A sudden flash of anger hit him.

"You mean like you did," he snapped before quickly realizing that she wanted to get him mad. He blew out a deep breath trying to calm himself.

"Come," she demanded, paying no attention to his last comment and walked out of the room. He followed her, surprised that she didn't even apply Force restraints to him. She led him down the hallway and down a confusing path before they reached an enormous room. It had gray walls and floors with no windows. Each wall was covered with black padding and their were red mats spread across the floor. Anakin guessed this was a gymnasium or training room of some kind. Valdis walked ahead of him and to the back of the room towards a table, fumbling around in a draw looking for something. She located the object and walked towards Anakin, placing it in his hands. It was a lightsaber, and a beautiful one at that. It held intricate designs and was perfectly crafted, showing off Valdis' inner eye of art. He ignited it, his wonder deflating when he saw the blood red blade.

"What am I supposed to do with-" but was cut off as Valdis lunged at him, igniting her own blade and cut him on the shoulder. He hissed in pain before bringing his up to block another strike. The red blades crashed together sending sparks everywhere. "What are you doing!" he yelled at her.

"You need to prove that you're strong enough to be a Sith," she replied before breaking their lock and swiping at his knees. Anakin jumped and quickly blocked a strike to his head.

"I will not fight you Padmé," he said. Valdis roared in anger and did a series of quick strikes at his body.

"Don't call me that!"

She continued thrusting and lunged at him, forcing Anakin to take the defensive. She cornered him to the wall getting ready for the killing strike but Anakin sensed this and quickly flipped over her, her blade just missing his leg.

"Don't make me hurt you Padmé," he pleaded. She roared again and ran straight at him. This time he was prepared and sidestepped her attack. He slashed at her unprotected back but she turned around and blocked it at the last second. They continued fighting for what seemed like hours but was really only mere minutes. Anakin swiped at her midsection but Valdis back flipped, evading his swipe. She back towards the wall, gathering the Force around her and became invisible. Anakin stared at the spot she had just been in with shock and awe. He had never even heard of someone doing that before. He was right, she did contain special powers. Suddenly the hair on the back of his neck tingled and the Force screamed a warning at him. Valdis appeared behind him and kicked his back, sending him to the ground. He quickly recovered and stuck his feet out, tripping Valdis as she went in for the kill. She fell behind him and he quickly backed her up against the wall pointing his red saber at her throat. Fear shone in her eyes as she helplessly looked up at him. Suddenly something fell from her pocket, causing Anakin to stare. What he saw surprised him and warmed his heart at the same time.

"You kept this?" he asked in a soft voice as he lowered his blade. Valdis stared down at what had fallen. It was the strange wooden pendant she had found last night. She glanced between Anakin and the pendant, a memory trying to resurface. She closed her eyes and tried to remember.

* * *

_The suns beat down on her as she waited in the sand. In the distance she could see a little boy running happily towards her._

_ "Padm__é__! Hey Padm__é__ !" he yelled as he tried to run faster. She laughed as she watched him stumble a couple of times before finally plopping down next to her._

_ "Ani what are you up to?" she scolded playfully, watching him fidget with something behind his back._

_ "It's a surprise," he explained, "Close your eyes." She giggled and she did so, feeling his small fingers fasten something around her neck. "Okay open them." She looked down and saw a beautiful wooden pendant dangling from her neck._

_ "Oh Ani it's beautiful!" she gushed as his cheeks turned red._

_ "I made it for you. I carved it out of japor wood. It's supposed to give you good fortune," he __explained as she traced her fingers over the beautiful design._

_ "You made this for me?" she asked in wonder._

_ "Well ya. You're my friend Padm__é__ and I wanted to make you something to show you how I feel," he said, growing shy at the last part. "We are friends right?"_

_ She smiled at him, her smile immediately making him feel better. "Of course we are Ani. Best friends for ever." He smiled with her before she tossed some sand at him and ran away giggling. He laughed and chased after her...

* * *

_

She looked back up at Anakin, realization dawning her and made Valdis shy away from the light as Padmé was awakened.

"A little boy gave this to me in the sand," Padmé said in a far away voice as she gently pick up the snippet, "When we were just kids on Tatooine." She looked up into his eyes. "Ani?" Anakin's eyes widened, not expecting that response. He hesitantly held his hand out to her and helped her to her feet.

"You remember?" he asked incredulously. She looked into his eyes, confused, simply nodding in response. There were so many emotions swirling inside of her all of the sudden. Valdis was screaming at her, telling her to kill him now, he's the enemy. But Valdis' voice was not heard as Padmé gazed at her life long friend. She suddenly noticed the angry red gash on his shoulder.

"What happened to your shoulder?" she asked her voice filled with concern. Anakin looked at his shoulder and realized that Padmé had no idea what she had done.

"You don't remember?"

She shook her head still trying to figure out what was going on. The last time she had seen Ani he was just a small little boy on Tatooine whom she'd been trying to free. Now there was this handsome young man in front of her. She furrowed her brow trying to remember something between those two times. All she drew was a blank. She stared up at Anakin, more confused than ever.

"Ani, what happened to me?"

* * *

Cliffhanger! What just happened to Padme? you may be wondering. Where the heck did Valdis go? haha don't worry I'm not a cruel person, you'll find out soon enough


	7. Chapter 7

Everything was blurry to Padmé. She couldn't remember anything, not even the hallways they were walking through as she clung to Anakin's hand, leading her to some unknown room. She tried looking around to see if anything would spark her memory, probing the Force for any answers but all she received was pain and hate. _Something terrible must have happened,_ she kept repeating to herself. Finally getting impatient she dug in her heels to try and slow Anakin down, causing him to whip back.

"Where are we going?" she demanded. She could see his sudden shyness as he looked around.

"I honestly don't know," he said, half exasperated and half amused, "This is really your mansion. I've only been around it once."

"This is all mine?" she exclaimed, "But it's so big and everything is so dreary," she stated as she looked around, making a small face, "I wouldn't live here." Anakin chuckled at how innocent she sounded. Padmé shot him a look. "What?"

"Nothing, you sound like that ten year old girl I met on Tatooine," he said as he grabbed her hand and continued down the hall.

"I am not a ten year old," she whined before quickly shutting up. They continued down another series of hallways before arriving at a lift tube.

"This is it," Anakin said, "I hope."

They went down two floors before it stopped and opened up at a huge white room. Padmé squinted as she took in the bright walls. _This seems familiar_, she thought as she left Anakin's side. She slowly walked around the room tracing the tops of counters and cots as if in a daze.

"I've been here before," she thought aloud with another far away voice, "I'd come down here and there was always this nice girl who would help me." She looked around confused. "Where is she?"

As if on cue Sabé walked in from the adjoining room. She immediately spotted Anakin and Valdis' backs and stopped. Quickly and quietly she walked back into the other room and pressed her body against the wall, expecting a fight to break out. Instead she heard soft voices, one full of concern and the other confusion. _Something must be wrong with my hearing,_ she thought as she peeked around the corner and took in the sight. Valdis, the cruel murderous lady of the Sith, was actually talking to Anakin. _Talking! Could you believe it?_ But something seemed different about Valdis she noticed. She was calm, calmer than Sabé could ever remember and there wasn't a trace of anger or hate in her movements. Before she could further investigate Anakin turned around.

"Sabé I can sense you. Come on out."

She jumped at his voice and scolded herself for being so nervous. Quickly recomposing herself she stepped out of the room and walked towards them. Valdis turned and as soon as she saw Sabé more memories came flooding back to her, full of friendship and compassion.

"Is that really you Sabé?" Padmé asked overcome with happiness as she looked at her best friend. Sabé came up to them and gave Padmé a confused look.

"What do you mean, of course it's me. You saw me just the other day with your internal bleeding and all," Sabé said some what amused, "You really did it that time."

Padmé's happiness was instantly shattered at those last words. Internal bleeding? Sabé had said it so casually as if it happened everyday which, unknown to Padmé, was true. Certainly she had done some dangerous stuff in the past fourteen years.

"Why, why was I bleeding?" she asked hesitantly, afraid of what happened. Sabé looked back and forth between Anakin and Valdis silently questioning Anakin. All she received was a shrug.

"Don't you remember? You came back from a meeting with Sidious and you were shaking from the lightning he poured into you." At this Padmé became even more horrified and Anakin decided he should step in. He didn't really know what to say so he decided to just break it to Sabé.

"Sabé this isn't Valdis."

"What do you mean this isn't Valdis," she asked as her patience faded.

"Who is Valdis?" Padmé spoke up. Sabé looked at her with a strange look and Padmé knew she shouldn't have said that.

"Alright I think we all need to sit down," Anakin announced as he gently pushed them towards some chairs.

"Indeed," Sabé stated, still not taking her eyes off of Padmé.

Once everyone was settled Anakin decided he should start.

"Sabé do you remember our talk yesterday?"

Sabé nodded not knowing where this was going.

"Remember I said that there was still a sliver of Padmé somewhere? Well you're looking at her," he finished as he gestured towards Padmé. Sabé looked back at her and studied her closely. There wasn't much of a difference in physical appearance but Sabé noticed for once there was no anger in Padmé's eyes. She saw that childlike sparkle in her eyes that she hadn't seen in almost fourteen years. Suddenly tears welled up in her eyes as she grabbed Padmé in a tight hug.

"Oh Padmé. I thought I'd never see you again," she exclaimed as she pulled back. Tears were in Padmé's eyes as well as she took in her friend's face.

"Sabé," she cried as she threw her head into Sabé's shoulder, finally breaking down. "I don't know what's going on," she said in between sobs, "Everything's different and I can't remember anything," her head shot up as one memory made its way through. "And my parents! And Sola!" At this point she couldn't continue and buried her head further into Sabé's shoulder. Sabé rocked her back and forth while Anakin came over and stroked her hair, feeling a little awkward in such an emotional moment. The three of them stayed that way for a while, the only sounds were Padmé's soft sobs as she started to calm down. She eventually brought her head up and looked at Sabé and Anakin, dreading what she knew was coming but knew she needed to know.

"Tell me what happened," she asked softly as she rubbed her eyes. Anakin and Sabé looked at each other not knowing if they should.

"Please," Padmé begged, "I need to know." Anakin sighed as he sat back in his chair.

"It isn't going to be easy to hear this," he warned.

"I know," she replied not relenting.

"Alright," he said giving in. Another sigh escaped his lips before he spoke. "Padmé you have been a Sith for the past fourteen years." He stopped waiting for a gasp or some sort of response but Padmé sat there with a straight face, waiting for him to continue.

"All I know is that after you left Tatooine the Sith Lord somehow got a hold of you and he's been training you. You have a power that he doesn't have, I saw myself it when we were in the gym before," he explained not knowing where to go now.

"I'll take it from here," Sabé announced, "When you and your family left Tatooine he sent bounty hunters to attack your ship. One of them got on board and he murdered your entire family before he brought you to Sidious. He hired me to take care of you and for the past fourteen years he's been torturing you and controlling you and turning you into the perfect Sith." Sabé stopped and waited for Padmé to process all the information.

"You're wrong," she finally stated.

"What?" Anakin and Sabé said simultaneously.

"You heard me, you're wrong," Padmé replied as her brow furrowed. "Bounty hunter's didn't murder my family."

Anakin and Sabé looked at each other, both equally confused.

"The Jedi murdered my family," she continued as her voice took on a dark edge, "Master Sidious said so. He told me that they wanted me for their own selfish reasons and my family had gotten in their way."

At this Anakin started to get mad.

"Jedi don't murder people in cold blood," he argued back, "They protect the innocent and try to restore peace to the galaxy. Violence is our last resort."

"No the Jedi are the people who are preventing peace. They're nothing but evil," she replied as Valdis slowly rose to the surface.

"Well from my point of view it is the Sith who are evil," he yelled as he got up from his chair. Padmé followed suit and eyed him as he continued. "The Sith have taken you and brainwashed you into believing that. It is the Sith who are trying to ruin peace. All they want is power, they don't care about who they have to squash in order to get it. The Sith are just using you for your power and once they have it they'll squash you too," he fumed. He immediately backed off as he realized what he just said. He looked down to Padmé and saw the fresh tears in her eyes.

"Padmé I-"

"So the Sith are just using me. I'm just some object that can help them in their quest and then they'll throw me away like garbage?" she questioned, her voice choked with tears.

"No Padmé I didn't say-"

"Oh but you did!" she exclaimed as she tried to run out. Anakin quickly grabbed her arm.

"Padmé just listen to me," he pleaded.

"Let go," she demanded.

"No." he said hotly.

"I said let go!" she screamed.

Before his senses could register anything she quickly Force pushed him back into a cot and ran out of the room. The push was so powerful that instead he flew over the cot and crashed into the wall, creating a hole. He looked up surprised and heard Sabé softly chuckle.

"You think this is funny?" he snapped.

"No not at all," she said sarcastically, "I'm just glad I don't have any of your weird powers."

"Ha ha," he replied dryly as he pulled himself up. "I should follow her," as he walked towards the door but was intercepted by Sabé.

"Oh no you don't," she exclaimed, "You need to leave her alone for a little bit. She's just learned the truth and is probably very confused because that stupid Sith fed her lies. You need to let her clear her head." Anakin looked beyond her head after Padmé and knew she was right.

"Alright you win," he conceded.

"Good," she said, "Now you can help me fix that wall." She walked to the hole and heard him groan causing her to laugh.

"Better hurry up!"

"Coming," he replied.

* * *

She ran blindly through the halls not knowing where her feet were taking her. She somehow ended up in front of a huge black door and quickly typed in a code. Not even caring how she knew what the code was for she ran inside and plopped face down on a huge red bed. She cried into a pillow for what seemed like hours, her mind racing with too many thoughts. Everything she thought she knew turned out to be a lie. All those years hating the Jedi were wasted. Her hatred soon turned towards Sidious. _He_ was the one who murdered her family. _He _was the one who tortured her. _He_ was the one who had fed her lies all these years. But amidst her hate she could feel happiness. Happiness that she had Sabé. Happiness that she now knew the truth, despite how painful it was. And a strange warm feeling towards Anakin. She pulled out the japor snippet and traced the designs with her finger. He was the one who had pulled her out of the darkness.

She knew there would be some darkness still inside her though. Valdis wasn't gone for good. It was like the two people inside her, Valdis and Padmé, merged together and made a new tougher Padmé. She held all the memories and training of Valdis but also held Padmé's nicer personality and memories. Overall she felt like a new person. She looked out the balcony window and realized it was dark. Feeling very tired suddenly she decided sleep would be good. She changed into a short red nightgown with slipped on a black robe. She jumped onto the bed and curled up into a ball, clutching the snippet close to her chest falling asleep.

* * *

After they finished patching up the hole Anakin decided he should check on Padmé. He followed her presence up to the bedrooms and hesitated. _Should I go into her bedroom_, he wondered. He didn't want to invade her privacy but he did need to talk to her. He tried to open the door but soon became aware of the keypad next to it. How was he supposed to guess the code? _Think of something important to her_, he thought. An idea struck him as he thought back to Padmé's breakdown. He typed in _Sola _and heard the lock click before quietly opening the door. He expected Padmé to come and yell at him for intruding but was instead met with a gorgeous sight. Curled up on the bed was Padmé, her beautiful curls cascading around her shoulders. She was wearing a red nightgown that cut off mid thigh and showed her beautiful curves and creamy skin. The night was actually clear and the moonlight shone on her, lighting up her peaceful face. But what really caught him, nestled around a black robe, was the japor snippet. She had it in her hand and held it to her heart as if she was seeking comfort from it.

_Maybe Sabé is right_, he thought, _Maybe I really am in love with Padmé. _Taking one last look he gently closed the door and walked over to his bedroom, glad that now he could sleep in a bed instead of those glowing restraints. But sleep unfortunately would not come to him.


	8. Chapter 8

_Sand swirled around him as the winds blew at a rapid pace. He could hear her calling out to him, begging him to take away her pain. He shielded his eyes with his hand as he struggled to walk against the wind._

_ "Ani!" her voice screamed as the pain intensified._

_ "I'm coming mom!" he yelled through clenched teeth, hoping she could hear him through the howling wind._

_ He could feel her pain, the strikes to her back as they mercilessly beat her. Each strike brought tears to Anakin's eyes as if they were inflicted upon himself. Each strike strengthened his determination to get to her and make whoever was harming her pay._

_ But the Force was not on his side as they wind grew stronger, blowing him back what little progress he had made. He was soon driven to his knees then completely on his stomach, his mother's screams echoing in his ears. The wind screeched louder and intensified, so much so that Anakin couldn't even move. It picked up sand and threw it on top of his body, burying him alive._

_ "Mom!" came his terrified scream as his lower body disappeared in the sand._

_ "Ani!"_

_ Soon the sand came up to his neck, pain coursing throughout his whole body as they continued beating his mother. A bright light suddenly shined in his face before the sand buried his head. He tried calling out to her but the sand was suffocating him. He screamed mentally in his head, trying to reach to her through the Force._

_ "Mom!"_

_ But there was no response_

_ He couldn't even feel her presence and suddenly the horrible truth came to his mind. With one last mournful cry he yelled for her to come back.

* * *

_

"Mom!"

Padmé opened her eyes from a dreamless sleep. She quickly sat up and took in her surroundings. She was in her bed and the room was dark save for bed itself which was bathed in the moonlight. She looked around in confusion wondering where the scream had come from. Suddenly it came again, louder and more desperate than before.

"Mom!"

She quickly got up and scrambled towards her door, running out into the hallway. The scream came again from Anakin's room. She ran towards his door, not caring that she was still in her night gown. Anakin was the only thing on her mind and he needed help.

She opened his door and found him thrashing around in his bed. His legs were tangled in the sheets as he kicked around fighting some unseen foe. She ran to his side and climbed onto the bed, grabbed his shoulders and shook him.

"Anakin! Ani wake up!" she yelled but he didn't hear her. Instead he thrashed around even more, kicking Padmé hard in the stomach.

"Oomph!" was all she could say as she fell rather ungracefully off the bed and onto the ground. Her cheeks reddened somewhat, glad that he didn't see it, but quickly became serious as he cried again. She climbed back onto the bed, this time grabbing his legs. After some difficulty she managed to get them down and quickly sat on them to avoid further injury. She carefully avoided his flailing arms and grasped his shoulders again, roughly shaking him.

"Ani! Ani please wake up!" she yelled again this time more desperately.

His eyes snapped open and he immediately froze. His breathing was shallow and uneven and his bare chest was covered in cold sweat. He looked around expecting to see a bright light blinding him but instead found it was incredibly dark. His first thought was that he had already been buried until his eyes rested on something red. Confused he continued upward and was met with Padmé's concerned face. Her hair was a mess and beneath her concern he could see the dark circles under her eyes.

"Padmé?"

He tried sitting but there was some weight on him preventing it. He looked to Padmé and she realized in her attempt to wake him she somehow ended up on top of him. She blushed furiously before scrambling to the side of the bed.

"You were having a nightmare weren't you?" she asked after composing herself.

"Yes," came his soft reply. He couldn't shake away the frightening visions and feelings no matter how hard he tried.

Then without any warning he buried his face in his hands and cried. Alarmed, Padmé silently watched him wondering what she should do. The nicer side of her got the best of her and she quietly crept next to him. She comfortingly rubbed his heaving shoulders as he continued to sob. Again he surprised her as he suddenly took her in his arms and cried into her shoulder.

Padmé awkwardly sat in his lap with no means of escape seeing that his arms crushed her to him. She couldn't help the burning in her body from being so close to him. Her head was on his shoulder as he continued to cry into her own. She could feel his hot tears on her bare flesh and reasoned he must have seen something terrible for him to be crying like this. With nothing else she could do she gently ran her fingers through his short hair and tried to soothe him.

After what seemed liked hours but was really only a few minutes, Anakin calmed down. He had stopped crying and was now softly sniffling to himself as Padmé continued running her fingers through his hair. He was starting to think clearly again and suddenly realized his lack clothing and the amount of space between himself and Padmé. Becoming embarrassed he quickly recovered and lifted Padmé off his lap. He got up and quickly threw on his shirt before walking out onto the balcony. Padmé merely sat on the bed and let him have some time to himself.

The night air was cool against his skin as he stared up into the rare night sky. The sky was clear and allowed Anakin to see the stars and moons in it. He closed his eyes and tried to think about his dream. They had been occurring for months now but had slowly increased in intensity. At first he had just seen his mother but as the weeks passed by he started to realize she was really in pain. Tonight was the worst one yet. He decided he needed to go back to Tatooine to see her. He just hoped he wasn't too late. His thoughts were interrupted when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He quickly turned around, somewhat upset he hadn't sensed her.

"Are you okay?" Padmé asked him. He looked down into her brown eyes full of care and concern and was briefly filled with happiness when he didn't see the usual anger.

"What about you?" he asked changing the topic. He didn't want to relive the nightmare by explaining it. Padmé gave him a confused look.

"What do you mean?"

"Well have you decided what you're going to do now that you've learned the truth?"

Padmé looked down at her feet for a moment. She actually hadn't thought about what she would do. All she knew was that she was done with Sidious controlling her. She looked back up at Anakin, determination shining in her eyes.

"I'm done with Sidious if that's what you mean," her voice strong and clear, "But I'm not concerned about me right now. I'm concerned about you," she softened her voice, "What did you see?"

Anakin sighed, still disturbed with his dreams. He turned back to the moons, his hands on his hips.

"I had a dream about my mother," he stated. Padmé said nothing, letting him continue. "I've been dreaming about her a lot these past months." He turned back towards her letting her see the anguish on his face. "She's in pain, Padmé. I can feel it as if it were my own. In my dream, she died," his voice cracked on the last sentence. Padmé patiently waited for him to gather himself. "I need to go back and see if she's okay."

Padmé stood there, letting her newly found memories flood through her. She went back to when she met Ani on Tatooine. She had liked his mother, Shmi, and she had looked out for Padmé as if she were her own daughter. Her parents had met Shmi as well and were instantly friends with the caring woman. Tears threatened to roll down her cheeks as she thought of her parents. They were dead and she would never see them again. It wasn't right for a girl so young to lose her parents. She remembered how devastated she was, how alone in the world she felt when she realized they were gone forever. She didn't want Ani to suffer through that too.

"I want to come with you," she declared.

She watched as Anakin widened his eyes, expecting to be shot down. He was surprised and touched by her offer. _Valdis is truly gone_, he thought.

"Alright we'll leave in the morning," he said enthusiastically.

"Right," Padmé replied as she turned back to the door. She stopped and did a complete 360 turn and faced Anakin again. "Isn't morning right now?" she asked with some amusement in her voice.

Anakin looked towards the sky and noticed the clouds coming back in as the sun rose.

"Oh. I guess it is," he allowed himself a small chuckle before turning serious again. "Pack whatever you need quickly. We don't want Sabé to know that we're leaving."

Padmé nodded and walked back to her room. She knew how nosy her friend could be and she didn't want Sabé to start questioning what was going on between her and Anakin. _Not that there is anything going on,_ Padmé thought.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later Padmé was waiting outside Anakin's door. She only carried her lightsaber and the clothes on her back. She wore her usual black garb with the exception of a gray tank top, remembering how hot Tatooine was. Clipped to her belt was her lightsaber, which she was planning to replace soon. She didn't want the weapon of a Sith since she had renounced her former life. Anakin opened the door dressed in his usual Jedi outfit with some modifications. He took out the leather jerkin and outer tunics and was left with just the tan, sleeveless inner tunic and his lightsaber clipped to his belt.

"Let's go," Padmé said as she led him down to the garage. She led him through the endless halls leaving Anakin to wonder how she knew how to get anywhere through this gray maze. Most of the droids were switched off at such an early hour so they were able to sneak out easily. That is, until they went through the kitchen. They were almost to the garage until a blue astromech droid stopped them. It blew a series of negative whistles and beeps as if it were scolding Padmé.

"Oh Artoo not now," Padmé complained, "We need to get out of here."

More beeps followed.

"Because we have to go somewhere."

Artoo noisily shook up and down showing his excitement. He gave Padmé an inquiring whistle.

"Yes Artoo you can come but we need you to be quiet."

He let out another whistle causing Padmé to sigh in annoyance and Anakin to snicker.

"Because we can't wake up Sabé."

Her tone left no room for argument so the droid quietly followed behind them. Anakin walked faster to catch up to her and leaned in towards her ear.

"Is he always like this?" he asked with a big grin just out of Artoo's earshot. Padmé huffed.

"You have no idea. But he's one of my closest friends so you deal with it."

Anakin smiled at that thought. He had never thought that a droid could be a person's best friend. True he had worked with a lot of droids but they were always so cold and unresponsive, he'd never imagine someone befriending a droid. But then again he had never met a droid with such a personality like Artoo. They quickly ran down another hallway until they met a huge metal door. Padmé keyed in the code and Anakin was amazed at what was inside. It had everything he had ever wanted, from speeders and ships all the way down to tools. His amazement was brief as Padmé tugged him onto a sleek black ship. Anakin immediately went to the cockpit and took the controls, preparing to launch. Padmé ushered Artoo up the ramp and quickly strapped in just as they took off. They flew out of the planet's atmosphere and blasted off into space. Anakin set the course for Tatooine and put on the autopilot before going back to tell Padmé it was safe to move about.

"We'll be at Tatooine in about fourteen hours so we might as well catch up on some sleep."

"That sounds like a plan to me," Padmé yawned. Her tiredness evaporated when she realized one small problem.

"Um, Anakin?"

"Yeah?"

"There's only one bedroom on this ship."

"Oh."

An awkward silence fell upon them as neither knew what to do.

"Well I could sleep here," Padmé spoke up, gesturing towards the padded bench. "You should get the bed considering you got less sleep than me."

Being a gentleman Anakin quickly refused the offer.

"You should take the bedroom. It is your ship after all," he replied. "Besides I don't think I'll get any sleep," he added shyly.

Padmé shrugged.

"If you insist."

She got up from the bench and walked to the back of the ship towards the bedroom. Anakin couldn't help but look at the way her hips swayed. He quickly shook his head to snap out of it and walked back to the cockpit. He sat down in the pilot's chair and watched the stars as they streaked past. He wasn't long before his head dropped and he was fast asleep.

* * *

It was around ten hours later when Padmé reemerged from the bedroom. She had slept in her clothes, since she brought nothing else, and was trying to straighten them. She walked into the cockpit to see how far away they were from Tatooine. She went to the navicomputer and checked. Four hours.

_ What can I do for four hours?_ She thought. She looked around to see what could entertain her when she noticed something. _Where's Anakin?_

Her question was soon answered when she heard a soft snore coming from the pilot's chair. She walked over to it and turned it around to find a sleeping Anakin. He had his arms wrapped around himself as if unconsciously seeking warmth. Padmé ran back to the bedroom and grabbed her cloak before draping it over him.

Artoo wheeled in and saw the sight before him. His mistress was caring for the man he had just met. The computer that acted as a brain for the Artoo unit was confused. His mistress wasn't usually a people person. She always kept to herself save for himself and Sabé. He came with her on her missions and saw how brutal she could be. He knew she worked for a dark and evil source. And yet he couldn't understand why she would be caring for someone. Perhaps she's been reprogrammed, he reasoned.

Padmé turned around and saw Artoo staring at her.

"What?" she asked.

Artoo beeped at her, asking why she suddenly cared.

"Well he's an old friend of mine," she replied.

Artoo beeped again.

"Why are you so full of questions lately?" she asked.

More beeps.

"I guess so in some way. Although humans aren't reprogrammed, they can have a change of heart."

Artoo whistled, satisfied that he had gotten his answers.

"How about you play some holochess with me, we've got about four hours to kill," Padmé suggested. Artoo shook vigorously, boasting he could beat her. Padmé laughed.

"I'd like to see you try!"

* * *

Anakin drowsily opened his eyes. He hadn't realized he'd fallen asleep. _At least there were no dreams this time,_ he thought. He looked down and noticed a cloak draped across his upper torso. _That's not mine,_he thought as he noticed it's smell. It smelled like waterfalls and angel blossoms and was rather pleasant he thought. He got up and grabbed the cloak before checking the navicomputer. Half in hour. He could wait that much. Suddenly he heard an aggravated voice coming from the back room. He curiously walked in and saw Padmé playing holochess with Artoo.

"That's the third game you've won!" Padmé exclaimed.

Artoo let out a smug whistle as if he was saying "I told you so."

Anakin laughed, causing Padmé to jump. _Why didn't I sense him? _Padmé thought. She noticed that lately she couldn't focus whenever he was around. Unknown to her, he felt the same way.

"Did I wake you?" she asked after she got over her shock.

"No I was already awake. By the way is this yours?" he asked as he tossed her her cloak. "I awoke to the smell of waterfalls and angel blossoms and figured you would own something that smelled so nice." He smiled as he watched her blush under his gaze. A warm feeling took over her body as Padmé finally identified it. She was falling for her little Ani. Trying to change the subject she got up and walked towards the pilot chair.

"I'll take over the controls for now. You should try and relax before we get there," she said. Reality came back to Anakin as he remembered why they were going there in the first place.

"I think I'll go meditate."

* * *

It wasn't long until they landed on the surface of Tatooine. The ramp lowered as two figures stepped out from the black ship.

"Stay with the ship Artoo," Padmé commanded. Artoo let out a positive whistle. She turned back to Anakin.

"Where should we start?" she asked.

"I think we should pay a visit to Watto. That was the last place I ever saw her."

Padmé nodded. She put on her cloak and threw the hood up. It made her even hotter but at least this way she wouldn't burn. Anakin followed suit as they walked towards Mos Espa. They soon arrived at the entrance to Watto's junk shop. The place held so many memories for Anakin, both good and bad. But to him, the most important was the day he met the woman standing next to him. Before he could stop himself he quickly blurted out the question he had asked her when they first met.

"Are you an angel?"

Padmé was completely caught off guard. Anakin was bold alright , she'd give him that. Then the memory came to her as well as she gave him a genuine smile.

"I'm more of a dark angel these days," she whispered to him as the blue Toydarian came towards them.

"What can I do for you?" Watto asked in his rough accented voice.

"You can tell me where my mother is," Anakin replied.

Watto stared at him in confusion. He had never met this man in his life, how would he know his mother? Suddenly he saw a flash of silver beneath the hooded figure's cloak and saw his lightsaber. He looked at the smaller figure next to him and saw a lightsaber as well. He grew frightened. Jedi were dangerous people.

"My mother," he demanded as he took off his hood.

Watto stared at the man long and hard. There was something familiar about him but he just couldn't place.

"Maybe this will help," said the petite figure as she took off her hood as well. "We are looking for Shmi Skywalker."

That's when it hit him.

"Ani?" he said doubtfully.

Anakin smiled. His old master didn't even recognize him.

"Yes Watto, it's me."

"Ani my boy!" he exclaimed. "Look at you! You're all grown up. And a Jedi no less!"

"Watto please, where is my mother?"

Watto's excitement died and he became uncomfortable.

Somehow Padmé had a bad feeling about this.


	9. Chapter 9

It's been raining and thundering for the past two days now so I decided I'd knock out another chapter.

Once again I own nothing from Star Wars I just like messing with George.

* * *

Watto shifted around feeling self-conscious under the young woman's curious glare. Anakin stood next to her trying to stay calm but to no avail. He could sense Watto's anxiety through the Force and knew something wasn't right.

"Watto where is she?" Anakin demanded with a darker edge to his voice. Watto gulped nervously. He knew that Jedi could be very dangerous and treacherous people, they were the reason why he had to give up little Ani in the first place.

"She's a not mine no more," he answered nervously.

"What do you mean?" Anakin asked.

"I sold her to a farmer. Lars. Or at least I think it was him," he said uncertainly. He could see the distress on Anakin's face. Padmé put her hand on his shoulder, feeling the waves of anger rolling off him. She herself was also trying not to get mad but the Toydarian was testing her patience.

"Hey but from what I hear he freed her! Married her too. Can't get much better than that!" Watto added trying to lessen the tension.

"Do you know where they are now?" Anakin asked.

"Ya, I have her file somewhere in here," Watto said as he fluttered into the back room. A few minutes later he came back with a data pad in hand. "The farm's location should be somewhere in here," he said as he handed it to Anakin. They quickly nodded their thanks before exiting the shop. Watto breathed a sigh of relief. Little Ani had grown up into a Jedi and his little friend threw Watto on the edge. He'd have to remember to stay away from any Jedi in the future.

* * *

They walked swiftly back to Padmé's ship, Anakin anxious to finally get to his mother.

"Artoo enter these coordinates into the navicomputer," Anakin ordered.

He sat down on the padded bench, rubbing his face with his hand. He didn't know his mother was actually living with someone, as a wife no less. A small stab of childish jealousy hit him. No one but him should be able to see his own mother. It quickly faded as he considered the thought. He had been gone for ten years. He imagined how lonely and heartbroken Shmi must have been. She was such a nice person, she deserved to have some company. He just hoped this Lars person was nice as well.

"We're here," Padmé announced.

"Do I have to go?" Anakin whined, feeling like that nine year old boy again.

"Well I would let you stay here if there wasn't a couple walking towards the ship," she answered.

Anakin immediately shot up off the bench and ran to Padmé in the cockpit. He looked out the window and saw a young man and woman around his age walking towards the ship. They wore the typically clothing of a moisture farmer, light colored with only one or two layers to stay somewhat cooler.

"Come on we should go meet them," Padmé said as she tied her hair back into a ponytail. She threw off her cloak and lowered the ramp, walking into the blinding light from the suns. Anakin followed suit, throwing his cloak behind as well. He too had a small ponytail as all Jedi padawans wore, still having the hairstyle even though his braid was cut off. In his mind he was still just a padawan learner.

He walked down the ramp and shielded his eyes as they were not yet accustomed to the brightness. Padmé was already up ahead talking to the couple. He ran up to her and listened as they made introductions.

"I'm Owen Lars and this is my girlfriend Beru Whitesun," Owen said as he gestured to the blonde woman next to him.

"I'm Anakin Skywalker, Shmi's son," he said as he shook Owen's hand.

"We've heard a lot about you," Owen said mysteriously. Anakin couldn't tell if that was good or not. Owen looked at the petite brunette next to Anakin.

"And you are.."

"Padmé," she simply stated. She wasn't a people person and wasn't one who would trust another so easily.

Beru stared at Padmé. There was something dark about her that unsettled Beru but she couldn't place it. Maybe it was the way she stood aloof from the others. Or maybe it was the simple fact that the woman was pretty much in all black. From Beru's farming experience on Tatooine that was one of the most important rules for preventing heat strokes: no black. _She's not the type I would befriend_, she thought. She quickly averted her eyes as Padmé looked at her, sensing the other woman's thoughts about her. Padmé gave her a stern stare, reconfirming Beru's thoughts.

"I think we better go inside," Owen said breaking the awkward silence. "There's a lot we need to tell you."

Anakin and Padmé exchanged curious stares before following them into the small round house. It was considerably cooler inside and everything was either tan or brown. They went into a small kitchen and Owen ushered them to sit. An older man with graying hair came in on a hover chair. Anakin suppressed a gasp as he saw the man's condition. The man was missing his right leg and the other was wrapped in bloody rags, clearly injured.

"I'm Cliegg Lars," he said gruffly. "You must be here for Shmi."

Anakin nodded. He noticed Cliegg slump in his chair as if recalling a sad memory.

"Where's my mother?" Anakin asked.

"She's gone boy. Kidnapped by Tusken Raiders," he said.

Anakin recalled Tusken Raiders. They were the most dangerous beings on Tatooine. They were cold and showed no mercy, hiding out in the Jundland Wastes. Their masks and terrifying cries were enough to make any man run.

"It was just before sunrise when they came. She went out to pick the mushrooms off the vaporators like she usually did. From her tracks we could tell that Shmi was halfway back before they got her." he stopped as his mood darkened. "Those Tuskens walk like men but they're vicious, mindless animals," he said vehemently. " Thirty of us went out to find her and only four came back," he paused again as his mood softened. "He'd be out there right now but after I lost my leg I couldn't ride anymore. It's been a month now since she was kidnapped so we lost hope that she is still alive," he finished sadly.

Anakin nodded sympathetically. He could sense that this man truly cared for his mother. But he didn't believe she was dead yet. He came here to find her and he was going to do so. He abruptly got up for the table and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Owen asked.

"To find my mother," he answered.

"Boy it's been a month. No one can survive that long in the Tusken camps," Cliegg protested.

"She's alive, I can feel it."

With that he left the house. Padmé sat there awkwardly among the Lars. She could sense they didn't necessarily like her and honestly she didn't like them either. She got up as well and followed Anakin, leaving curious stares in her wake.

"There's something odd about her," Beru said as soon as Padmé was out of earshot. Owen nodded in agreement.

She found Anakin outside staring at the setting suns. He ran his hand through his hair, a trait that Padmé was learning meant he was lost in thought. She hesitantly came up behind him.

"Ani?"

He turned around determination lining his features.

"I have to go find her. These are good people Padmé. You should stay with them."

"You seem to forget that I was a Sith. I can take care of myself."

"But I don't want to put you in danger too!"

He sighed and turned back to the suns. Padmé walked up to him and turned him back towards her.

"I'm not going to be in any danger. I've been through things that you can't possibly imagine." she said.

Anakin looked down into her eyes. She was right, he shuddered just thinking about how hard and painful it must have been to be training as a Sith.

"Alright."

Padmé flashed him a quick smile before running back to the ship. She reemerged carrying their cloaks. She used the Force and floated his back to where Anakin was standing before going to tell the Lars they were leaving. Anakin caught the cloak in mid air and heading over to a speeder leaning on the side of the house.

"I'm sure Owen won't mind," he said to himself as he pulled on his cloak. Padmé walked out to the speeder pulling on her own cloak before squeezing behind Anakin. The speeder wasn't really meant for two passengers but she was small enough to fit. Anakin revved up the engine before they charged across the desert.

* * *

It was night by the time they arrived at the village, with the help of some Jawas and Anakin's Force abilities. Padmé wrapped her cloak around her tighter. During the day Tatooine was extremely hot but the night was like being on Hoth, minus the snow and ice. They were on a small cliff that overlooked the entire village. There was a small fire in the center and nothing except a few Tuskens and strange guard like animals. They jump off the cliff and used the Force to soften the fall. Anakin probed the Force to try and sense which tent his mother was held in. He could feel her presence in a tent close to the fire but it was faint, too faint for his liking.

Wasting no time Anakin led Padmé to the tent. He quickly unclipped his lightsaber and turned it to the lowest setting, making it less bright and loud. He carved a hole in the back of the tent and slipped inside followed closely by Padmé. What he saw nearly broke his heart.

Off into the corner was his mom, laying across a crudely carved piece of wood like some animal. Her face was pale and lifeless with a huge gash running across her cheek. Her wrists were cut up and bloody from the twine that tied her to the post. Anakin quickly ran to her side and untied her wrists, letting her limp body fall against him.

"Mom?" he asked as he cradled her broken form. Her eyes fluttered open and rested upon his face.

"Ani? Ani?" she asked weakly. Anakin eagerly nodded, tears of happiness forming in his eyes.

"Yes mom, it's me."

A smile came to her badly beaten face as she stroked his cheek. "Oh you've grown so big and handsome." Anakin blushed, a little embarrassed that his mom would say that in front of Padmé. He ducked his head closer to Shmi as he let the tears roll freely down his face.

"I've missed you so much," he choked.

"Oh I've missed you too Ani," she said. "You have granted my last wish." Anakin looked back at her confused. "I got to see you again one more time." A cold shock came over Anakin as he realized what she was saying.

"No don't say that!" he said. Shmi didn't respond. He grew desperate. He had finally found her, she can't die now.

"My life is now complete," she said warmly as she continued stroking his cheek.

"No! Mom please!" he begged. Shmi could feel her energy slowly fading.

"I love-" she choked.

"Hold on mom," he cried desperately. Shmi tried again.

"I love y-" And then she passed into the Force.

Anakin sat there, still cradling her body. His mouth hung open in disbelief. He gently shook her hoping she was still alive.

"Mom?" he croaked.

But she remained still. Anakin closed his eyes as he realized she was gone. He slowly closed her eyes as he pressed his forehead against her's and sobbed.

Meanwhile Padmé stood in the shadows, too many emotions running through her. She instantly flashed back to her parents' deaths. She was just ten, too helpless to do anything except watch as a bounty hunter shot point blank at her own mother. Anger quickly filled her as she stared at Anakin holding Shmi's dead body. She couldn't do anything for her own parents. _But now you can_, came Valdis' ugly voice. Padmé tried to resist her but it was true. Shmi was such a caring person. It wasn't right for her to be tortured like this. Padmé briefly registered an animal like bark coming from outside. _Make them pay,_Valdis continued,_ Make them feel the pain that they put Shmi through. Pain that you felt when your parents were ripped from you. You can avenge them!_

Padmé immersed herself in her hatred. Valdis was right. It's not like they were people anyway. Cliegg had said it himself, they were nothing but mindless animals. She would be doing everyone a favor by killing them. Her hatred grew as Valdis continued seducing her back into the dark. And Padmé welcomed it. She let Valdis loose, let her rage consume her. Her eyes turned sickly yellow as Valdis took over, banishing Padmé back into the recesses of her mind. She unclipped her lightsaber, the blade matching the red rage she was seeing now and stormed out the front of the tent, slicing off two guards' heads before continuing on to the rest.

It was a few minutes later when Anakin looked up from his mother's dead body. He had been too absorbed in his misery to notice Padmé leave the tent. He focused on the Force and was immediately hit with a powerful wave of rage followed by the sound of a slashing lightsaber. He gingerly placed Shmi's body down before running outside. Tuskens littered the ground around him, men, woman, children and even the animals, all of them dead. His horror grew as he heard a scream behind him. He ran around the tent and was met with a freshly cut down Tusken. Standing above it was Valdis, her eyes now glowing and her red blade still impaled in the Tusken's chest.

"Padmé?" Anakin asked horrified. His voice cut through the dark fog in her mind, allowing Padmé to escape Valdis' dark prison.

"Ani?"

She looked at his face and noticed his eyes were glued to something below her. She followed his gaze and gasped at the dead Tusken before her. She dropped her lightsaber and let it clatter to the floor as the past few minutes caught up to her. She looked around the village and saw her own destruction. Bodies lay everywhere, some with limbs missing or scorch marks from Sith lightning. Tents were destroyed and on fire with blood staining them. She looked down to her hands, covered in blood as well, and began shaking.

"I did this," she whispered to herself. She looked up at Anakin, her eyes wide with fear. "I did this," she said again. He simply looked at her slowly nodding his head, not believing it himself. "Oh my god! Ani I did this!" she cried as she ran to him. She crashed right into his chest, making him stumble back a few steps, and buried her face in him. She sobbed uncontrollably as Anakin just held her. He was crying quietly too but he wasn't sure if it was because of Padmé or his mother's death. Probably both.

They stayed that way for an hour, standing amidst all the destruction crying. Finally Anakin calmed down and let go of Padmé's still sobbing form. He grabbed her shoulders and stared into her red eyes as she continued shaking and crying.

"Padmé you need to listen to me," he said. "We need to get out of here."

Padmé continued shaking uncontrollably, her sobs reduced to small cries and hiccups.

"It was a mistake," Anakin continued. "We're not all perfect. We all lose control every now and then. But we move on from it. Can you move on?" he asked trying to maintain a steady voice. Padmé nodded still crying.

"Good."

He enveloped her shaking form in another hug as she fought to gain control again. Valdis was still in her mind, whispering that she should feel good, powerful. All Padmé felt was disgust. She calmed down somewhat or at least stopped shaking. She quietly stood there in Anakin's strong embrace, just relishing in the feeling of being held. She took her head out of his chest and instead rested it on his shoulder, facing his face. She felt like a lost child drowning in darkness.

"How can you stand being with me?" she asked softly. Anakin didn't move, making her think he didn't hear her.

"What do you mean?" he finally said.

"How do you still like me even after all I've done?"

"Because I know that wasn't you. Physically maybe, but not mentally. I know Padmé would never willingly commit to such dark deeds." With that he tightened his grip on her.

"What makes you think that?" she asked from inside his arms.

"Because I know Padmé and I know she's a wonderful, caring person. Doesn't that sound like you?" Padmé chuckled softly, her hot breath on Anakin's neck sending shivers down his spine.

"Not right now it doesn't."

She felt considerably better but Anakin could tell there was something else bothering her. He decided he'd ask when they got back to the Lars. Padmé turned her head the other way, facing the damaged tents. Her brow furrowed as she noticed one was completely unharmed.

"Oh Anakin, your mother," she said sadly. She felt selfish, crying all over him when he just lost his mother. She felt him tense a bit. He lowered his head to her neck and for a brief second she thought he was going to cry. He did have a reason to after all.

"We need to go back to the Lars," came his muffled voice. Padmé nodded, or at least tried to since Anakin's head was underneath her chin.

"Let's go."

Anakin reluctantly released Padmé and they walked to the tent. Seeing Shmi brought tears to both of their eyes, for Padmé she thought of her parents and for Anakin it was the thought that he'd never see her smiling face again. He carefully picked her up and they walked back to the speeder.

The Lars were in for quite a surprise.


	10. Chapter 10

It took them another day and a half to reach the Lars. Two people put a little strain on the speeder but with three it just managed to drag them across the desert. It was around midday when they finally arrived, the high suns beating down on the two breathing passengers. Anakin had bundled Shmi up in his cloak for multiple reasons. For one, the cloak shielded Shmi's frail body from the heat. It also shielded Anakin from the harsh truth. He couldn't stand looking at her and knowing she couldn't look back at him with her eyes full of life. Or lack of life.

Padmé had been silent the whole ride with an expressionless face, the only evidence of any emotion were the dried streaks of tears running down her cheeks. She had been smothered in the back of the speeder with Anakin in front of her. Shmi was in his lap forcing him to sit farther back in the seat which caused Padmé to be stuck between him and the uncomfortable metal that kept digging into her lower back. She was all too happy to finally part with the offending piece of metal when they stopped in front of the house. She quickly jumped out of her seat and stretched, feeling her legs tingle as feeling came back to them.

She turned around and watched sadly as Anakin lifted his mother's covered body up. Beru and Owen had emerged from the house followed by Cliegg as he hovered along anxiously. All of their faces fell as they watched Anakin carry Shmi towards them. Beru let out a horrified gasp as tears welled in her eyes. Owen stood next to her, too shocked for any emotion. Cliegg stayed expressionless but the pain in his eyes gave him away. Padmé watched as Anakin tried to keep his Jedi face, the calm everything's-under-control face, but she could tell by the way his body dragged that he was suffering.

"My darling wife," Cliegg whispered sadly as Anakin walked inside the house. Everyone soon followed suit.

"Let me take her," Beru said as Anakin carefully placed the bundled form in her arms. He turned away quickly as he felt his eyes sting with unshed tears. An hour later everyone gathered outside. Shmi had had a proper burial and everyone had said nothing but kind words towards her. Anakin sank to his knees in front of her grave and distractedly play with some sand.

"I wasn't able to save you Mom," He whispered quietly.

"I'm sorry."

Again he began playing with sand. His eyes started stinging again, letting a few tears drip onto the sand below. Trying to stop his tears he got up and ran. Somehow he managed to get into the garage. He found a table full of broken droids and parts and began working on them. He always felt better when he was working. He could control what he wanted to build. He could control the droids that he built. He could control what pieces should go where. But even the mighty Chosen One couldn't control the tears as they flooded down his face.

* * *

Padmé sat in a guest room that Beru had showed her. She was sitting on the small bed with her legs crossed and eyes closed. She didn't normally meditate, she preferred taking action not planning things out and reflecting. But her actions at the Tusken Camp proved she needed to reflect. Flashes of images whirled through her mind. Her outburst kept replaying over and over in her mind. Her eyes darted around behind her eyelids as she saw everything. But this time she wasn't viewing it in anger. She was viewing it in disgust. She could see the error in her ways now. _I shouldn't have done it,_ she lamented as she saw the scene for a fifth time. _It wasn't fair for Anakin. _Images of his shocked face appeared before her.

She squeezes her eyes tighter, hoping to block out the images as they prepared to replay.

_I'm back at the Tusken camp. But instead of me fighting Tuskens I'm just standing here. Waiting. For what?_

_ My senses suddenly blare to life as the Force indicates another presence. Through the fire's smoke I can make out a person. It's walking towards me. Is this who I'm waiting for? I take a defensive stance, lightsaber tightly gripped in my hands ready to attack. I may not serve the Sith but my sithly __instincts are still there. I squint my eyes as the figure comes closer. By now I can tell that it's human. I crouch down low, almost like an animal ready to pounce on its prey. The figure moves ever so slowly until it's about a good five feet away from me, the fire right in the middle. I narrow my eyes, deciding this is close enough, and activate my lightsaber. The red blade cuts through the smoke as I jump over the fire and straight at the person. I'm just about to slice through their head when a voice stops me._

_ "Padmé?"_

_ I freeze._

_ That voice._

_ I've heard it before._

_ I thought I'd never hear it again._

_ A voice I've longed to hear for so long._

_ And here I am about to kill them._

_ "Mom?"_

_ I lower my lightsaber but still keep it on. How do I know this isn't a trick? How do I know Sidious isn't trying mess with my head? He's done it before, countless times actually, why not now?_

_ "I'm real sweetie."_

_ Force. This is why I don't like meditation._

_ I step back. My heart wants to believe it but my head refuses. She's dead. Dead for fourteen years. I saw her die. But she's standing right before me. Same brown hair, same kind eyes. My mind hurts, I'm so confused. Isn't meditation supposed to __**not**__ confuse you?_

_ "We need to talk."_

_ I suddenly feel nervous. I feel like I'm shrinking. Like I'm a ten year old girl about to be scolded. She walks away and I follow her like I'm about to be dragged off to my doom. We walk out of the campsite and a bright light surrounds us for a brief second. As the light fades I notice we are in a meadow surrounded by several waterfalls. She picks a spot next to a waterfall and sits down, patting the ground next to her. I sink down to the spot and bring my knees up to my face, afraid of what she'll say. She must know I'm a Sith, or what I've been doing the past fourteen years._

_ "Padmé."_

_ Her voice breaks my thoughts. How I missed that voice so much. I turn my head towards her, letting her see my tear stained face. I'm sure the moonlight makes them hard to miss._

_ "Oh Padmé," she says as she wraps her arms around me. I cuddle into her embrace, missing my mother's warmth. _

_ "I missed you so much," I whisper quietly._

_ "I've missed you too sweetie," she says as she rubs my back. "Our time together was cut short I'm afraid."_

_ I laugh despite myself. More like a sad chuckle really._

_ "You make death seem like it's just a game. Like a minor setback."_

_ "Considering your role when it comes to death, I'd say it is," she retorts._

_ I wince. She knows. But does she know the entire story? By her tone I can tell she's mad at me. I'd be surprised if she wasn't. I close my eyes, getting ready for her lecture. When I was little I'd fear them. Now I'd do anything just to get her to talk to me again._

_ "Padmé what happened to you? Where's my baby girl?" she asks. I wince again when I hear the tears behind her voice. _

_ "I-I guess you can say a lost my way," I reply, still warm in her embrace. The night air is cold._

_ Now it's her turn to laugh._

_ "Lost your way? Padmé you've practically fallen off Naboo."_

_ "I've fallen way lower than that," I say dryly._

_ I untangle myself from her arms and look hard at her face. I haven't seen it in so long. I'm ashamed to say that I'd actually forgotten what she even looked like. I curse Sidious silently in my __head. All I could remember was she had brown hair with matching eyes. As I look at her I realize I actually inherited most of her features. We're both petite, have brown curly hair, even the same nose! But her eyes._

_ Her eyes have a warm chocolate color with a certain child like sparkle to them. They're always filled with joy no matter what the situation. I have her eyes too but somehow mine are different. Mine have a dark edge to them after all my training as a Sith. And in mine there is no child like sparkle. There's nothing childish about my eyes. My own childhood had been taken away from me. I can tell she's staring at me. I'm like a complete stranger to her. My thoughts drift back to Sidious and I can't help the anger that comes with them. It's so strong. He is the reason why I am like this. He is the reason why a mother couldn't raise her own daughter. He...He_

_ She gasps._

_ I look at her._

_ She stares at me._

_ With fear._

_ I furrow my brow._

_ Why is she scared?_

_ "Your eyes!" she whispers._

_ Confusion passes through me for an instant before I feel an intense heat in my eyes._

_ I look down in horror at the water next to me. I'm greeted with my own reflection but yellow eyes peer back. Force! I didn't want her to see that! I blink rapidly to try and get rid of the yellow but my new anger at my mother seeing me like this makes them shine brighter. I hang my head and avoid eye contact to save my mother from the sight and to save myself from shame. Why does this have to happen now! I can hear the grass rustle as she slowly moves back next to me. I bend my head further down until its practically in my lap, clawing my hands nervously._

_ "Padmé," she says hesitantly._

_ I keep my head down, scratching harder and harder._

_ Soon my hands are covered in tiny cuts._

_ "Padmé." she says more forcefully._

_ She snatches my red hands with one of her own hands and with the other she grabs my chin. My eyes immediately dart to the left, trying to avoid eye contact. She gently guides my head straight, causing me to look straight at her. I can see the fear in her eyes but she quickly tries to hide it with concern._

_ "I think you owe me an explanation."_

_ Hours must have gone by as I told her my terrible upbringing. I'm not even sure if time went by at all. Force, I don't even know if I'm just dreaming all of this or this is the Force's way of teaching me a lesson. The look of horror on her face tells me I don't need it told twice. 'If this is my punishment make it end! She doesn't deserve this!' I scream mentally at the Force. Of course I'm ignored. After I finish we just sit there in the meadow. It's kinda uncomfortable. I look down at my hands and notice a particularly big cut running along my thumb. Stupid habit. Finally Mom speaks and what she says shocks me._

_ "This is all my fault."_

_ I stare at her wide eyed, my eyes now their normal brown._

_ "How is this __**your**__ fault?__" I demand._

_ "Because I couldn't be there for you when you needed me most," she said sadly. I continue to stare at her in disbelief. How could any of this be her fault? It wasn't like she chose to not be there. She was dead. I decide to voice my thoughts._

_ "This is, in no way whatsoever, your fault. You weren't able to do anything," I say trying to reassure her. She nods._

_ "I know but I can't help but feel some responsibility. I am your mother after all," she says with a small smile. Suddenly her face brightens up as she remembers something. _

_ "Oh! I almost forgot why I came to you in the first place."_

_ She grabs both of my hands and holds them in her own._

_ "Tell Ani that Shmi is alright. Tell him he has no reason to be sorry."_

_ I look down at our entwined hands, memories from that night burning my mind. She seems to sense what I'm thinking about and tries to reassure me._

_ "What you did that night does not matter. You told me the story and I agree with Ani. It wasn't you. It was that monster within. Don't let her control you Padmé."_

_ I shake my head and look down once more._

_ "I can't shake this feeling Mom. I'm scared of myself. Scared of her," I say quietly. I look back at her with more sorrow in my eyes. "Shmi wouldn't be proud of what I did."_

_ She takes my face in her hands and kisses my forehead._

_ "We are proud of you Padmé," she says firmly. "We are so proud that you've awakened from that terrible nightmare."_

_ I nod my head as tears start coming again._

_ "We need you to be strong Padmé," she continues, "Dark times are approaching. Only the Chosen Ones are strong enough to defeat it."_

_ She has my full attention with her last sentence._

_ "What do you mean Chosen __**Ones**__?" I ask. "Anakin is the Chosen One."_

_ She shakes her head, which I notice is starting to fade._

_ "There is another," she says ominously as she backs away from me._

_ "What do you mean?" I cry as I desperately grab for her hand. But my hand goes right through her's._

_ "You shall see soon enough," she says, raising more questions than answers._

_ "Mom!"_

_ But she already faded...

* * *

_

Padmé's eyes snap open. She scans the room, surprised she's not back in the meadow. Her mother's last words echoing in her head.

_"Dark times are approaching. Only the Chosen Ones are strong enough to defeat it..."_

Who is the other Chosen One?

Judging by the darkness of the bedroom Padmé guesses night has already fallen. _I've been meditating for at least four hours,_ she thought as she glanced at the time. Deciding she wouldn't be falling asleep anytime soon she got up and began to walk around the house. She sensed Anakin was still up as well and followed his force signature which, unsurprising to her, led to the garage. He sat at a table bending over something he was fixing. All around him were repaired droids and vaporators. He'd certainly been busy.

"Couldn't sleep?" he asked without turning.

"No."

The conversation soon dropped as he became more engrossed with his work. Padmé felt uncomfortable in the silence, deciding she should break it.

"How are you holding up?" she asked. His shoulders visibly sunk as exhaled loudly.

There were so many emotions he was feeling right now. He felt miserable, worse than miserable even. He felt helpless. He couldn't save his mother, couldn't get too her sooner. He felt anger. She didn't deserve to die, no one does he reasoned. Anger towards himself because he couldn't get to her in time. And fear. Fear of what he would've done if he wasn't so lost in his own misery. Fear for Padmé and her dark outburst. There wasn't a single word that could just name everything he was feeling. How was he holding up? He would say he wasn't even holding anymore, simply falling. But he wouldn't admit that, especially not to Padmé.

"I'm still here if that's what you mean," he said miserably. He set the tools down and shoved away everything, simply resting his forehead on the table and let his arms dangle at his sides. Padmé walked to his side and climbed under the table, making herself comfortable before eventually laying on her back. She looked up into his eyes and even from her upside down view she could see the torment in them.

"I have something that might make you feel better," she said hopefully as she grabbed one of his dangling hands. His gaze bore into hers as she gently stroked the back of his hand with her own.

"Shmi is okay."

He tried to scrunch his eyebrows in confusion but the table that he was pressing his head against wouldn't allow it.

"She is now one with the Force and wishes you would stop beating yourself over her death."

"What?" Anakin finally said.

"I said she is-"

"I know you just told me that," he snapped.

"Well then what do you mean?" she huffed as she stopped playing with his hand and settled with holding it.

"How do you know?" he asked suspiciously. He watched as Padmé frowned though from his angle it looked like a smile.

"How much time do you have?" she asked seriously. Anakin shrugged.

"As much time as you need."

Padmé sighed as she dropped his hand and put her arms behind her head. Then her stomach. She started twisting her fingers about. Then she began clawing her hands. Her hands were soon covered in red streaks before Anakin finally grabbed them, effectively ending her daze.

"Any time soon?" Anakin asked.

She fidgeted once more before explaining to him what she had seen. A good hour had passed when she finally finished and Anakin was just as confused as she was.

"There are two Chosen Ones?" he asked.

"Apparently. Only time will tell she said," Padmé answered.

"That's amazing though," Anakin began, "You actually talked to your mother!"

Padmé frowned.

"What's so amazing about it?" she asked.

"Well she's dead for one thing, and she isn't Force sensitive. I've heard that only Force sensitive people could communicate with the living after their death."

Padmé shrugged.

"Well I'm Force sensitive, maybe that was enough to summon her."

"Well whatever it was it's still incredible." he replied. "What do we do now?"

Padmé sighed as she started to crawl out from under the table.

"I say we should prepare for these 'Dark Times'" she said as she began to stretch. "And something tells me Sidious is involved."

Anakin nodded in agreement.

"We should go back to the mansion," he suggested.

"Yes we need to get there before Sidious gets too suspicious. I was supposed to report to him two days ago."

Anakin frowned.

"We better hurry."


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: So I wanna warn you guys now that this chapter involves hacking off limbs! Maybe! I don't know I haven't decided yet. If you are one of those people who don't like blood then I suggest you get over it now.

Thanks to all of the people who review! Almost at twenty! The twentieth reviewer will get...uh...a smelly sticker! Those things are awesome. Anyway on with the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars or Padme or Anakin or anyone else 'cause if I did...well, I don't know what would happen.

* * *

Anakin sat in the pilot's chair watching Padmé pace back and forth. She made the cockpit seem smaller with only two wide steps before she hit one of the walls. In truth she didn't really want to go back to the mansion. It was where she lived during her dark years and was filled will her past's most horrible memories. It was there she received her punishments for failing or for simply upsetting her master.

Padmé stopped pacing for a brief second. _Master. _She couldn't believe she still called him that. More like torturer. But no matter how much she despised him she was still loyal to him. He had taken care of her when she lost her parents. Even though he _was_ the reason they were gone in the first place and he _was _the one responsible for most of her scars. But Valdis still remained inside of Padmé and it was Valdis who was loyal to Sidious. As long as Valdis was alive, so was Sidious. Padmé huffed and continued pacing.

And then there was Sabé. They had been gone for almost a week and hadn't even said goodbye to her. Padmé mentally slapped herself. Sabé was probably furious with her. And being Sabé meant that Padmé had a lot of explaining on her part, whether she wanted to talk or not.

"We'll be landing in ten minutes," Anakin called out to her. "Are you sure you're ready?"

"No," Padmé said flatly, "But we have to go down sometime..." letting her voice trail off.

"And that time is now," Anakin stated, sensing Padmé's thoughts. "The sooner the better."

Padmé let out an aggravated sigh while planting herself in the co-pilot's seat. She quickly strapped in as drops of rain hit the ship, signaling that they were entering the atmosphere. The drops soon became more frequent until they were completely caught in the downpour. Anakin with his excellent piloting skills easily guided the ship towards the mansion, despite the overgrown vegetation springing out everywhere. After landing settling the ship into the garage both stepped outside and where immediately greeted by Sabé. Or more like stared down by Sabé.

Her arms were crossed firmly against her chest and if looks could kill, Padmé would already be a rotting corpse. She shrunk as Sabé looked between Anakin and herself, mostly herself, and stepped closer to Anakin as if he could make Sabé disappear with his Chosen One powers.

"Where have you been?" Sabé demanded. Padmé looked at Anakin, pleading him with her eyes to take care of Sabé. Padmé wasn't afraid of anything, she could take down a rancor with her bare hands and not even flinch, but one look from Sabé was all it took to send Padmé away cowering.

"We went to Tatooine. I've been having dreams of my mother dying so Padmé came with me to rescue her," Anakin explained. Sabé gave Anakin a sympathetic look before returning her icy glare to Padmé.

"Why wasn't I told of this Padmé? I spent a week worrying over your sorry butt, thinking Sidious had discovered you and done who knows what," Sabé said throwing her hands in the air for emphasis. "Even Valdis had enough decency to tell me when she was leaving."

Padmé stepped forward, slightly offended that Sabé thought _Valdis_ was decent.

"For your information, I didn't want to worry you-" Sabé scoffed "-and I thought the faster we left the faster we could save Shmi," Padmé stated. Anakin winced at the mention of his mother which didn't go unnoticed by Sabé.

"Where is your mother Anakin?" Sabé asked.

"Back on Tatooine. We got there just in time to say goodbye," Anakin said, his voice slightly cracking on 'goodbye'.

"Oh Ani I'm sorry," Sabé said.

"No it's alright. Mom said she was complete and had died happy," he assured her. An awkward silence fell upon them before Sabé gasped, suddenly remembering something.

"Sidious called three days ago," she said grimly, "and he wasn't happy. He wants you to report to him in his office."

Padmé sighed. "This isn't going to be fun," she said glumly.

"Do you want us to come?" Anakin asked, concern etched across his features.

"No I'll go alone."

Before anyone could argue Padme quickly ran up the ramp and prepared to go.

* * *

If he was requesting her to come to his office she knew she was a dead woman walking. He never asked her to come to him unless it was really important or she did something seriously wrong. She decided to go alone if something was seriously wrong. She didn't want Anakin and Sabé to suffer too. After a quick goodbye she was sitting in the pilot's seat, her only companion being Artoo.

"Set a course for Coruscant," she ordered. Artoo whistled before going into the cockpit. Padmé went to the ship's bedroom and sat down on the bed trying to calm her nerves.

* * *

His office was dark, just the way he liked it. He sat in the Chancellor's chair, having dismissed all his servants, and donned his black Sith robe. He had felt his apprentice the moment she entered the planet's atmosphere, her anxiety rolling over him in waves. _What is she so worried about?_ He thought evilly. A few minutes later the doors burst open and another cloaked walked in.

"Where have you been?" he snapped, repeating Sabé's earlier question. Padmé bowed down on one knee and lowered her head, trying to summon Valdis' loyalty to the disgusting man. The last thing she needed was for Sidious to learn that Valdis was no longer in control.

"At my mansion," she replied smoothly. Sidious swiveled around in his chair, his yellow eyes piercing through Padmé.

"Don't lie to me," he snapped. He raised his hand and Padmé could feel her airway constricting. "Where were you!" he said more forcefully. Padmé's hands flew to her neck as she fell down on both knees. The pressure grew stronger and she lowered her head to the floor, trying to break his telekinetic hold on her.

"I'm... n-not lying," she managed to say, hoping her mental shields were strong enough. Breathing became easier as she felt him slowly let go of her. She fell on all fours, her shoulders heaving as she tried to make up for the lost air. Sidious leaned back in his chair as he watched her panting form.

"I have been far too lenient with you Valdis," he began. "You _lie_ to me and me to _believe_ them?" he paused waiting for an answer. Padmé slowly shook her head. "Lies are something I do not tolerate. If you believe past punishments were torture, then prepare for hell itself."

Before she had any time to get up blue streaks of electricity struck her, sending her flying against the wall. Sidious sent her to another wall, still shooting out his deadly Sith lightning. She smashed against the wall, stars exploding in front of her eyes as she felt a stab of pain coming from her lower back. _Ribs..._ she thought weakly before she was hurled to the floor in front of her master. She landed on her elbow, hearing a sickening crunch followed by more pain shooting up her arm. Padmé writhed on the floor as he poured more lightning into her, relishing in her agonized screams. He finally ceased and slowly rose from his chair, taking his sweet time in walking around his desk towards his smoking apprentice.

She was a rather pathetic sight he thought. Laying on the floor, shaking like a child. Her cloak had been thrown off and was laying in a smoking pile on the floor. Her clothes were smoking from the lightning and the leather jerkin was singed and burnt off in some places.

"Have you learned your lesson yet?" he asked, a malicious smile plastered to his face. Padmé struggled to sit up. Her shoulders heaved as she was sent into a coughing attack, spraying blood across the floor. His smile turned into a snarl as his lightsaber shot out of his sleeve. The distinct _snap-hiss_ briefly registered in Padmé's already aching head before her back arched and another scream escaped her lips.

_It's a good thing this room is sound proof,_ Sidious thought darkly as he continued slashing. He made several cuts on her back, his eyes practically bleeding yellow with each drop of blood. Her hands soon became a bloody mess as she tried to reach for her own lightsaber only to be intercepting by her master's. He did a vertical slice and Padme screamed in pain as she clutched at her face. With a final slice he cleanly cut into her wrist, stopping just enough to break through the bone. Padme was hanging onto consciousness by a thread. The last thing she saw was Sidious' yellow eyes before he kicked her in the stomach, breaking another rib, before she faded into the blackness.

* * *

Artoo wheeled outside the ship nervously. His mistress had been gone for almost two hours and he hadn't received any calls saying she would be late. He let out a forlorn whistle as his computer brain came up with a list of reasons as to why she was late. Unfortunately none of them were good. He was contemplating rolling into the building to meet her when a group of red guards came marching onto the secret platform. There were six all together, four forming a square with two inside the square dragging a bundled up 'something' with them. They came closer to Artoo and dropped the mysterious 'something' on the ramp.

"Send this back to Dantooine," of them ordered Artoo. They lined up side by side and marched back into the building. Artoo rolled up to the bundle curious as to what was inside. It looked like a ratty old blanket, brown in color with rope wrapped around it to keep whatever was inside from falling out. Artoo whistled and a cable shot out from his behind, grabbing a piece of the rope and dragging it in the ship. Figuring it was from his mistress he set a course for Dantooine and waited at the ramp. After a few minutes his mistress still didn't show up. Artoo shook as if he were shrugging and raised the ramp before blasting out of Coruscant's atmosphere.

* * *

Anakin sat with Sabé in the med bay after explaining to her what had happened on Tatooine.

"It's such a shame that Shmi couldn't be helped," she said sadly. Anakin nodded his head in agreement. "Is Padmé okay now?" she asked, referring to the Tusken incident. Anakin shrugged.

"Losing Shmi was too much for her I guess. She couldn't deal with it so she reverted to making the Tuskens pay for what they did to Mom. But I think there's something else that cause her to kill them. Only problem is I don't know what." Sabé nodded trying to think of what else could have caused Padmé to let Valdis out. Suddenly they felt a vibration through their chairs followed by a low rumbling sound.

"That's the garage door opening. I guess Padmé is back," Sabé said. They both rose from their chairs and rushed to the garage anxious to see Padmé. Anakin, being trained in the Force and having somewhat of a bond with Padmé, had sensed great fear coming from her a few hours ago. He just hoped she was alright. Sabé led Anakin through the halls and opened the garage door, both hoping to see Padmé. Instead they were greeted with Artoo. He gave them a happy whistle as he rolled towards them.

"Artoo where's Padmé?" Sabé asked as she glanced around the droid. He let out a series of whistles and beeps which Anakin understood.

"He said she's not with him," Anakin translated, his brow furrowing in confusion. Sabé was confused as well.

"Where is she then?" Sabé asked. Artoo whistled as if saying 'I don't know'. Anakin and Sabé looked at each other, their confusion growing. Artoo whistled again and Anakin listened intently.

"He says that the red guards gave him a package and he assumed it was from Padmé," Anakin translated again. Curiosity got the better of him and he headed towards the ship. He searched the cockpit and bedroom but found no package.

"Artoo where is..." his voice trailed off as he spotted a brown bundle off in the corner in the back room. He walked towards it, his suspicion growing with each step. _What could possibly be in there? _He thought. _Why couldn't Padmé give it to us in person?_

From his original spot in the doorway it looked like an old brown blanket. The ends were frayed and it had dark colored splotches on it in various places. It was tied together with an equally old rope. But as he walked closer he could make out more detail. There were some bulges in it as if something were trying to poke out. And the splotches. Anakin stopped in the middle of the room, his eyes widening in realization.

Blood.

"No!"

He ran the remainder of the way and lifted the bundle up into his arms. It was heavy. He cradled the bundle and carried it to the other end of the room, laying it down on the bench. Quickly he untied the rope and peeled away the blanket.

"Oh Force no!" he half whispered half cried.

Inside was Padmé. Her face was covered in cuts and dried blood. A huge gash ran across her nose and down her cheek, the cause for most of the blood on her face. Her clothes were ripped and burned and smelled like burnt leather. The leather on her left shoulder and arm was completely burnt away revealing her bare skin. Another huge gash was on her wrist so deep it cut down through her bone, her hand hanging on by a small chunk of flesh. Her other arm was bent at an odd angle, also adorned by plenty of cuts and burned skin. Other areas of her body had gashes that were still pouring out blood or burned to a crispy black. Tears streamed down Anakin's face as he cradled Padmé's broken body against his chest.

"Anakin I heard you yell..." Sabé began as she walked up the ramp. Her eyes widened when she saw what Anakin was crying over. "Oh Force! Padmé!" Sabé quickly ran over to them. She put her hand on Anakin's heaving shoulders while trying to stop her own tears. Padmé's face was hidden in Anakin's chest but Sabé could see the rest of her body. She needed help and fast. Putting on her business face she gently shook Anakin's shoulder.

"Ani we need to get her to the med bay. She losing too much blood. We might lose her!"

Anakin nodded his head slowly. He stood up, holding Padmé bridal-style. Sabé came over and carefully tucked in Padmé's almost severed hand so as not to rip it more. Then they both hurried out of the ship and back to the med bay. Sabé motioned to the examining table and Anakin carefully placed Padmé down on it. Her face was so pale...

"How is she doing?" Sabé called out as she gathered the necessary tools. Anakin reached out with the Force and tried to find Padmé's signature. The normally bright aura around her was now a faint, sickly gray and was pulsing very slowly.

"Not good," he replied as he tried to choke back the tears threatening to fall. This was just like his mother. It was actually worse than his mother. Sabé gently nudged him, her arms full of medical supplies. She placed them on the counter and combed through it searching for a specific tool. Meanwhile Anakin moved to the other side of the table and held Padmé's good hand, sending some of his own power to her. Sabé finally emerged with a needle and thread.

"I'm going to have to sew her hand together for now. The bacta should finish the job," she looked uncertainly at Anakin. "Are you sure you want to see this?"

Anakin firmly nodded his head, his eyes never leaving Padmé's lifeless face.

"Alright but it's not my fault if you're squeamish. Since your here you can help me," she stated. She quickly handed him bandages and bacta patches and told him where to apply them. An hour later Sabé had finished sewing what she could. She had Anakin help her peel off Padmé's clothes which was no easy feat since they were soaked with the red liquid. Sabé had redressed Padmé since Anakin refused to and had changed her into some white shorts and a matching white sports bra. Since Anakin was stronger he lifted Padmé and set her in the bacta tank. Now all they could do was wait.

* * *

"So how is she doing?" Anakin asked nervously. For the past three hours he had sat next to the bacta tank watching Padmé. With almost no clothing it allowed Anakin to examine her body. He noticed that amidst all the cuts and bruises there were previous scars all over her body. Throughout the blue goo-like substance were little black flakes of dead skin and swirls of red mostly coming from Padmé's left hand. Sabé sighed and picked up a holopad with Padmé's progress.

"Well all the minor cuts have been healed and the three ribs and right arm are mostly mended. The burnt skin is coming off and new skin is starting to grow over it and her neck is no longer bruised. The gash on her face was pretty deep but it should heal without scaring. But her hand has made little improvement. The bone was almost completely cut through and my stitching is really the only thing keeping it from falling off. It could take months for it to finally heal and even then it would still be stiff and less flexible."

Anakin put his head in his hands.

"I should've went with her," he said. "I could have protected her from this."

Sabé put down the holopad and knelt next to Anakin.

"She's a strong woman you know. She's dealt with this kind of torture for the past fourteen years and she survived." Sabé paused and looked at Padmé. Under the oxygen mask Sabé could see the gash running across her nose and down her cheek, although it did look better. "I'll admit I've never seen her this weak before but she will survive. And just think of what would've happened to you if you went. She's trained for this kind of stuff and still got beat. You would probably be worse than her."

"I'd suffer if it meant she wouldn't have to," he mumbled.

"I know you would," Sabé sighed. "Well it's late so I'm going to bed. You can stay here if you'd like."

"I'm staying," he answered. Sabé shrugged and headed towards her bedroom. As soon as she left Anakin stood up and pressed his forehead against the glass. Padmé was floating at an angle where her head was pressed against the glass too. Anakin closed his eyes and concentrated on Padmé. He summoned all his strength and gathered it in one spot. He felt a warm sensation coming from his hand and when he looked down it was glowing a bright, gold light. He lifted his hand and pressed it against the glass where Padmé's forehead was. He watch as the light gathered around her head and then traveled down to where her heart was before embedding itself in her.

A small smile graced his face as he checked her Force signature. It was brighter for sure but not as strong as usual. Instead of gray it was now white and pulse evenly with her heartbeat. Suddenly overcome with exhaustion Anakin collapsed against the chair and fell asleep. He didn't see Padmé slowly move her good hand and he didn't see when she placed it where his had just been. He especially didn't see her eyes flutter or the small upward twitch of her mouth under the mask.

* * *

A/N: Sorry if you thought Sidious was a little harsh but I thought I should get out how brutal he can really be. Plus I just wanted someone to be tortured (no I'm not some sick freak). So I'm debating on whether or not I should chop off Padme's hand. I think it would be cool and add to her whole tough girl thing but then a little part of me doesn't want to for some unknown reason. Let me know what you think.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Sorry guys for the delay. But I have a good reason! I had to go to some doctor because I have this nasty scar running down the whole back of my hand. He said that in order to make it flat I'll need INJECTIONS. Now as a thirteen year old needles are my BIGGEST fear. So ya, I was screaming like a baby as the guy stabbed my scar like eight times with a needle. I had to have my hand all bandaged up and that made typing somewhat harder. Plus it just flat out HURT. So as I was writing this chapter I found it funny cause Padme is having some hand problems too.

So enough about my sad life and back to the story!

* * *

Floating.

Just floating.

Safely tucked in a little corner, hiding from the real world.

There was no pain in this safe place.

There was no anything in this place.

Just a comforting blue glue.

She could stay here forever. Never again step foot in the real world and feel the pain and suffering that seemed to follow her like a shadow.

Drowning.

Grabbing for a life line

A feeling like cold water suddenly pouring over her exposed body

The comforting blue glow flashed and turned a blinding white.

She felt hands grabbing her, lifting her up out of the white fog and into a black nothing.

They moved towards her mouth, ripping off a mask of some sorts.

As soon as the mask came off her lungs burned.

She couldn't breathe, she couldn't move, couldn't do anything.

All her pain returned to her as she reentered the real world.

She weakly shook her head back and forth trying to get some air in her burning lungs.

She wanted to scream, wanted the blue glow back, wanted to stay in her safe place.

Voices could be heard but they sounded far away, underwater.

A blurred face appeared above her own, concern etched in his blurry features.

With her last breath a scream escaped her lips before the black slowly swallowed her, a woman's frantic orders fading in the background.

* * *

"Anakin move!"

Nothing.

"Move!"

Again nothing. His eyes were frozen on her face. His mind didn't seem to register the fact that she was so pale or that her lips were blue. After another failed order Sabé roughly pushed him to the side. Anakin snapped out of his daze as he stumbled over a the cot, almost falling on Padmé. He caught himself just in time and quickly backed away, tripping over a chair in his haste.

"Force can you at least try to stay on your feet?" Sabé snapped as she ran to get the oxygen mask.

Anakin just stood there, not realizing he was just taking up more space in the already crowded room. Three medical droids were scooting about, one setting up a monitor, another helping Sabé with the oxygen and the other watching over Padmé. The gears in his head slowly started turning as he took in the whole situation. He shuffled to the back of the room waiting for the drama to go down. A sudden "Aha!" from Sabé told him she had solved the problem.

"What happened?"

"Lack of oxygen," Sabé replied waving off the droids. "Coming out of the bacta was a big shock for her."

"Oh."

Anakin glanced at the screen monitoring Padmé's condition. Her heartbeat was slowly returning to normal. After a few minutes of breathing regularly Sabé deemed it safe to take off the mask. Anakin had resigned himself to the chair he had stumbled over, feeling utterly helpless.

"Well she looks alright but we'll just have to wait until she wakes up to see if that's true," Sabé sighed.

"Uhhh," Anakin groaned, "She's been in there for two days already how much longer do I-we have to wait!"

He only got a chuckle in reply.

* * *

Her head slowly moved side to side, trying to clear her head. It was the only part of her body she could move and even that felt like a shaak had sat on it. Opening her eyes was a small victory for Padmé considering how heavy they felt but her joy was replaced by dizziness. Her vision was foggy and looked like everything was in slow motion. She could see four, no two, faces looking down at her.

"Where am I?" she asked but to her ears it sounded more like, "Wherem hai?"

"The med bay," one of the heads said.

She tried sitting up but an extreme pain in her wrist coupled by her dizziness forced her back down.

"Yeah you shouldn't try doing that," the other head said. Padmé closed her eyes, trying to remember what happened. She moaned from the pain in her head but didn't break her concentration. That's when it hit her full blast.

"Sidious," she hissed to herself.

"Can you sit up now?" a head said. Her vision was slowly sharpening and she could see Anakin's questioning look.

"Only one way to find out," Padmé said. With some difficulty she managed to sit up in the bed.

"Well that's better," Sabé commented. "How do you feel?"

"Like I fought a rancor, lost, and then during his victory dance he sent a herd of shaak to run me over," Padmé muttered.

"Humor still intact I see," Sabé laughed. "I'm just gonna poke around make sure everything's working alright."

Padmé nodded and sent a reassuring glance at Anakin who seemed to be studying her. Sabé went about lifting Padmé's legs and poking her stomach, receiving curses and weak slaps from Padmé. Sabé was trying to lighten the mood by cracking jokes every now and then during her inspection. That was until she got to her hand. She gave it a frown. Around Padmé's wrist was a red circle. It almost looked like she was wearing a bracelet except there were black stitches here and there and in one part Sabé could see a little white of her bone.

"This might hurt," she warned. Padmé nodded and closed her eyes, preparing her self for the pain.

"I'm ready."

Sabé hesitantly poked the back of Padmé's hand near the stitching. She glanced back at Padmé waiting for her reaction.

There was none.

Sabé frowned and poked her again, pulled some fingers and even slapped her hand. Again there was no reaction.

"I said I'm ready," Padmé opened her eyes.

"You didn't feel that?" Sabé asked incredulously.

"Feel what?"

Sabé's eyes widened as she muttered to herself. Padmé gave Anakin a confused look, one that he returned almost immediately.

"Sabé what's wrong?" Anakin asked.

"Are you sure you can't feel this?" Sabé asked again, flicking Padmé's left hand.

"No," she answered uneasily. She could read some of her friend's thoughts and none of them were good. Padmé and Sabé were like sisters and through Padmé's Force powers they created a bond. Padmé wasn't sure how it was possible, Sabé wasn't even the slightest bit force-sensitive, but it happened somehow. Through it Padmé could sense Sabé from anywhere, sometimes feel her emotions, and if Sabé was careless enough, read her mind.

"Sabé why can't I feel my hand?" Padmé asked, panic seeping into her voice. Sabé shifted around uneasily.

"Can you try moving it?" Sabé asked. Padmé nodded and lifted her finger. Or at least imagined herself lifting her finger.

Her hand lay dead on her lap.

Again she tried flexing her fingers but nothing moved.

"No!"

"Okay okay calm down!" Sabé said, holding her hands up for emphasis.

"Why can't I move my hand!" The panic had completely taken over now.

"Well what I think happened is that too many things were cut apart at your wrist. Before I stitched it up your hand was hanging on by a piece of skin," she paused trying to find a nice way to put it. "Your hand is dead."

With that last sentence, Padmé's world grew dark. _Dead?_she thought, _Dead. No life. Gone forever. As in completely useless. _Her mind raced with other words similar to dead, still not believing it. A drop of moisture ran down her cheek. She looked down at her useless hand. _What can I do?_ She kept asking that over and over. What could she do? Walk through life missing a hand? No there has to be some sort of compromise.

"You could always get a new one," Anakin weakly suggested. Padmé's head snapped towards him.

"How?"

"Well there are mechanical hands. They work just like a normal hand I've heard. Only you can't really feel with them."

"That's fine. I'll do it," Padmé quickly said. Both Anakin and Sabé were surprised at how quickly she got over it.

"Are you sure?" Sabé asked.

"Absolutely. When can we do it?"

"Um... we can do it here b-but I'll need some time to get everything ready," Sabé answered. She got up and walked to the back room, throwing a few questioning looks behind her shoulder. That left just Anakin and Padmé. An awkward silence rested between them, Anakin sitting in his chair and Padmé laying on her cot.

"So, uh, you're really gonna do this?" Anakin finally asked.

"What do you expect? I can't walk through life with only one hand."

"Well yeah but, it's like you're losing a part of you. A part of humanity. I mean, you're gonna be stuck with a metal hand. One that can't feel or touch."

Padmé nodded, contemplating what Anakin said. It was like losing some humanity. But she reasoned it had some up sides too. _I mean, sometimes not feeling things can be good. And droids are pretty strong, maybe a mechanical hand can be strong too. _Her thoughts were interrupted as Sabé came in pushing a cart filled with necessary tools.

"Alright I'm going to give you some drugs to ease the pain. Do you want to be awake for this?"

"No."

"Alright. Do you want us to leave so you can have some alone time with you hand?"

Padmé glared at Sabé, hearing Anakin snicker before shooting him a glare too.

"Sorry, sorry," he said.

"Can we just do this?" Padmé asked impatiently.

"Fine, here we go."

Sabé quickly shot a needle in Padmé's arm. The drug immediately started working, making Padmé feel drowsy. She looked at her hand one more time before black once again swallowed her.

* * *

"Wake-y, wake-y!"

"Muuhp."

"Come on wake up."

"Muuuuuhp."

"Seriously."

Slap.

"Ow!"

"Sorry!"

"Sabé!"

The world slowly came into focus. Padmé blinked a few times, rubbing her cheek with her good hand while shooting a murderous glare at Sabé. Sabé too was rubbing her arm after Anakin had punched her.

"She just got out of surgery and the first thing you do is slap her?" Anakin asked.

"That's just the way our love works." Sabé snapped. "You're just jealous."

Anakin blushed but tried to cover it with a scoff.

"As if."

"Can we stop yelling," Padmé whined.

"Sorry," came the collective reply. Padmé nodded, enjoying the silence and took time to admire her new hand. It was a shining silver and was relatively the same size as her other one. Beneath the silver covering she could see the wires and gears working as she slowly clenched and unclenched it. Even if Padmé didn't want to admit it, it was pretty cool looking.

"I take it you approve of my work?" Sabé asked.

"Well, since I'm stuck with a robot hand I'm glad it's this one," Padmé answered as she continued playing with it. The fingers moved smoothly and she could easily move her wrist where the metal and flesh met.

"Good," Sabé said, proud of her work. "But I will admit that Anakin helped."

"Really?" Padmé asked, smiling at him.

"Yeah it was pretty crappy at first, all stiff movements. And it clicked every time I moved a finger," he said, clearly hitting each syllable when he said 'every time'. Padmé chuckled, imagining how annoying that would be. She glanced around the room and noticed something in the trash can. Her eyes widened in horror as she tried to resist the urge to barf. Sabe saw what she was staring at and visibly paled too.

"I wasn't sure if you wanted to keep it or-"

"No!" Padme yelled burying her face in her arms. The image of her bloody hand in a trash can was burning in her mind and making her nauseous. She tried thinking of something, anything but her departed hand. Her thoughts grew dark, as she thought of the person responsible for all of this.

"I'm gonna get him back," she said after calming down. "It's time I repay him for the great job he did in taking care of me."

Anakin flashed her a smile, showing off his white teeth. "I had a feeling you were going to. Which is why I want to help."

"Great," Padme said suddenly feeling nauseous again. "You can start by handing me a bucket."

"Why woul-" Sabe started. Only Anakin noticed Padme's pale face and with his Jedi reflexes he quickly found a bucket and brought it to her mouth before she heaved up her stomach's contents.


	13. Discontinued

I'm so sorry to everyone who has enjoyed this story and waited for an update but I've decided to discontinue the Chosen Ones. When I started writing this I had no plan and just wrote whatever came to my mind. Eventually I noticed, "whoa, things are getting intense," and realized that I actually didn't have a plot to write for you. My short break to think lasted nearly three years and in that time my love for _Star Wars_ and its characters just died so I'm ending it here. Sorry.


End file.
